The Child In You
by WakeToSanity
Summary: Modern AU. Nezumi is a young teen that sneaks into college student Sion's apartment. How will their relationship turn out? Nezushi. Whoops, just gave you the answer.
1. Cherry Red

**I wanted this story to relate to the original a lot, but in AU. So that's why it's quite similar. It will differ more as it goes on.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own No.6**

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><p>Sion opened the door and stepped into his apartment, placing his keys absently on the table to his left. He gazed around at the pristine white walls and furniture that were put into his home by the best designers the city had to offer. That was part of his privilege as a newly enrolled, gifted curriculum student in his city's elite college. He had been given a shiny new flat and a sleek little car so that he wouldn't need to worry about anything other than his studies. He could barely suppress the urge to turn on music of yore and dance while he splattered the colors of the world onto his walls. Not just the whites that his city was doused in, but the colors of birds and plants and animals that he had only ever seen in books or in the form of an electric image. An intrinsic rush of vicious desire overcame him.<p>

_Break it._

_Destroy it._

_Destroy what?_

_Everything._

_Everything?_

The feeling disappeared as soon as it came and Sion's gaze settled upon a small box atop his glass coffee table. He smiled as he peered through the thin stretch of plastic that centered the roof of the box. In it was a small, icing covered cake, complete with bordering cherries and a petite card. He lifted the lid and slid a finger across the white icing, taking the card in hand and flipping it open. It was handwritten in the small, loopy letters he knew as his mother's.

_Sion,_

_Well wishes for your birthday! I'm sorry I couldn't get time off from the bakery, but I wouldn't want to disappoint the customers. And I know you won't be privy enough to make plans yourself, so I invited Safu over to your place. She'll be there at six. I hope you enjoy the cake (Lili helped to make it). I love you. - Mom_

His smile heightened and he ran another finger over his fresh track in the icing, revealing the red insides of his cherry cake. He loved that red. It was the only color in No.6 that was bright enough to be considered natural. Sometimes he would find himself digging his fingernails into his flesh in attempt to see that liquid crimson slide down his ivory skin.

He heard the sound of rain as he set the cake down on a white plate, removing a section and settling it atop a smaller plate. He rummaged through his drawers that he had purposefully disorganized and took a fork in his hand, taking a bite of the aesthetic treat. He hummed in delight, closing his eyes and listened to the rain grow heavy.

He wanted to hear more; hear clearly the discordant, careless patter of water hitting the Earth with all it's might. He set his plate down and flung open his balcony windows. His emotions bested him and he sung along with the scattered rhythm, yelling in a voice that if shown in public would surely grant him a pass to the madhouse. Raindrops dove down his throat, dampening his hair and skin. He closed his eyes and stopped his vocalization, turning around to take up his sweet once again. But... where was it? He had only taken a bite, yet only a dusting of crumbs remained atop the glassware. He whipped around as he felt an unknown presence, but before he could see the figure that shared the space he was pinned to the ground.

Sion looked up to a child that was dripping wet and licking icing from his lips. Boy or girl, old or young, short or tall; Sion couldn't tell. His eyes wouldn't leave the raw red skin that stretched over his left shoulder.

"Don't move" An icy voice filled the stagnant air.

He was a boy. Young... probably fourteen, and he was considerably smaller then Sion. His eyes were dark and light at the same time. A pool of grey that was so different from anything he had seen. The boy's thin arms and legs didn't look strong but they held down Sion's arms with one hand while the other closed around his neck. He straddled his lap with either such skill or such strength that his legs wouldn't budge. His brown hair was floating just above Sion's skin.

"I see," He gasped "You're used to doing this"

His gaze stayed fixed and unwavering. Those eyes held no emotion and were impossibly calm. Sion felt like his own emotions were being sucked into them; they were ridding him of his panic.

"I'll treat your wound. You're hurt aren't you? I'll treat it."

Sion stared up to the quiet, grey eyes and felt an odd sense of unease run through him. He felt like the boy was looking straight through him; he was just a cell under a microscope. He averted his gaze and repeated himself.

"I'll treat the wound. It's a burn right? I'll help. Treat. You understand what I'm saying right?"

The grip around my neck loosened slightly and the grey eyes drooped, showing his fatigue for an instant.

The small cake thief leaned away from Sion's body and collapsed, rather composed, into a kneel. Sion stood and warm air circulated through the room as he shut the windows. He pulled a plastic, white box from a shelf and kneeled before his intruder. He checked his vitals before tearing the fabric away from his torso -thankful that none was stuck to the wound- and examining the wound.

"This..."

He couldn't take his eyes away from the bubbling, deformed skin covering his shoulder. It was a searing red that made Sion's face distort in aversion.

"A burn like this... how?" was his barely assembled question.

"Gasoline and fire" He answered casually

"Gasoline?" Sion questioned in shock "How did you manage to do that?"

"Not me"

Sion's eyes widened "Someone _lit_ you on fire? I can't believe someone would would do that to you... unless it was an accident"

"You really think someone could light me on fire by accident? Aren't you supposed to be one of those petri-dish elite's?"

"If you mean that I'm in the gifted curriculum, then yes." He said, taking a syringe from the medical kit.

"What is that."

"Local anesthesia. Are you ready?"

"Wait, you're gonna freeze it and then what"

"Debridement"

"Debridement?"

"I'm going to get rid of the dead skin"

"How?" He said with a hint of panic in his voice.

"With these." Sion said, pulling a scalpel and tweezers.

"Tweezers? Can you be any more primitive?"

"Well a burn's pretty primitive in itself"

He disinfected the wounded area, and applied the anesthesia.

"It should get numb in a few minutes, and then..."

"You're gonna rip off my flesh"

"Yeah"

"Do you have experience?"

"A bit"

He had received a small amount of training in this, but if you added his common knowledge to that, he was confident in his ability. He went to work, placing the removed dead skin and tissue onto a towel he had laid out, trying and failing to ignore the small flinches of pain that the boy let off.

"Sorry" He whispered.

"You shouldn't be. You're the one treating my wounds."

"Right"

Setting down his tools, he began wrapping the wound lightly in dry bandages. He looked into the boy's face. He had thin cheeks with skin that seemed to stretch across his bones. It wasn't the face of someone who had lived in luxury. This boy had certainly seen things that Sion couldn't imagine. He looked exhausted and worn down. But his eyes were different. They held a fiery vitality that seeped into Sion's skin just by looking. He would never forget those eyes that were staring at him unblinkingly.

"You're strange"

"How so?"

"You haven't even asked my name"

"Yeah, but I haven't introduced myself either. I'm Sion, like the flower. How about you"

"Nezumi"

"Huh?"

"That's my name"

"No... that's not it"

"Why not"

Those weren't the eyes of any rat. They were eyes that drew you in unconditionally. He could walk into the depths of those eyes without a second thought; never looking back.

"It just... isn't right"

"Well whatever" Nezumi said standing up

"Where are you...?"

"Thanks for the help... I'll pay you back, somehow."

He made his ways to the window and Sion lurched forward without thinking.

"Stop... you can't leave" He demanded hesitantly, holding onto a small wrist.

"And why is that, I'm just some mangy kid off of the street, you should be more cautious you know"

"I am cautious... normally. But... you're just a kid and you're hurt and..."

"And?"

_And you're eyes are a strange color that I've never seen before. And they drew me in._

"And I'll feel bad if you're injury gets infected"

Nezumi shrugged and walked over to the couch.

"It's nice"

"You can sleep there if you want"

"Really?"

"Sure"

"Thank you"

Those were the first words of gratitude Sion had heard since Nezumi entered his home.

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><p><p>

**What did you think? It's... I don't know. I wrote it and presumably you read it, that's all we need to know... Well I would also like to know if you liked it or hated it or thought it was a disgrace to No.6 and Asano Atsuko. Nezumi's 14 and Sion's 18 by the way.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	2. Idiot Savant

**Disclaimer: I don't own No.6**

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><p>There was a shuffle at the door as Sion handed Nezumi a blanket. He walked over and picked up the newspaper that was delivered every day, exactly at five when the sun started to lower. It really seemed senseless to receive the daily news at such a late time, but the city had deemed it more efficient. If the men and women of No.6 were exposed to the small, trickling issues that managed to leak through the city's defense in the early hours of the morning, then they wouldn't be beneficial throughout the day. Or that's how they saw it. To Sion, when you learned of these things so late, it seemed like you ignored the fact that they were there at all. It was like learning your friend had passed away, and not knowing in time to go to the funeral. It was too late to receive any closure from the ones who felt the same and all you had was the silence of your room at night to let your feelings either mellow or build up until they needed to burst out of you; until you needed to scream.<p>

He quickly scanned the newspaper and turned the page to see Nezumi's face in the bottom corner. The picture was captioned '_VC. Child Gone Missing' _in bold black letters.

VC. It was a name the city had come up with for missing kids. Vanished Child.

"Is anyone going to come looking for you?"

"What?"

"Well, you're in the newspaper. That must mean that someone is worried about you"

Nezumi clicked his tongue in irritation. "They're worried about themselves"

"Who's they?"

"None of your business"

"Right, of course."

_Could the burn have been from... No, it couldn't be._

Sion handed Nezumi a mug of steaming hot chocolate. Nezumi's eyes wavered for a moment with emotion. Pleasure. It was shorty followed by a long sigh.

"Hot cocoa for a burn victim?" He said accusingly, looking up ti Sion.

"If I give you water you'll get hyperthermia"

He gave an understanding hum and took an elegant swig of the drink, muttering softly as he brought the glass away from his dry lips.

"It's good, better then your surgery"

"That's not very fair, I think I did well"

"Are you always like that?"

"Huh?"

"Do you always leave yourself wide open, or is it normal for all you petri-dish elites to have zero sense of danger? You guys can get along just fine without feeling danger towards anything, huh?"

"I do feel danger. And fear too. I'm afraid of dangerous things and I don't want anything to do with them. I'm also not naive enough to think that you wouldn't be able to harm me just because you're younger."

"Then why?"

He was right. Why? Why was he treating a stranger's - and thief's - wounds, and even giving him a hot drink? His heart wasn't a cold one but it also wasn't a bleeding one. Hassles and disagreements made his blood simmer, yet he had asked this intruder to stay. This possibly dangerous intruder at that. The city wouldn't be happy with that. He lived in the safest part of the city, so they wouldn't appreciate him housing a mysterious criminal. They might think that his judgement was clouded, and if that happened...

"Instinct?" He answered as more of a question than a statement. "I know you _could_ hurt me..."

"But you don't think I will." Nezumi spoke looking deeply into his eyes with his own grey ones that had the ability to make Sion feel naked and transparent.

He shifted under the gaze.

"I don't. I think that you wouldn't hurt someone who helped you, unless you had a reason"

Nezumi gave a small smirk and spoke gently.

"Maybe you are smart"

He looked down to the couch and then to the plaid shirt he had been given to replace his blood stained one.

"Can I really go to sleep?"

"Sure"

"Mm"

**...**

"Sion?"

"Yes"

"Is that a child on your couch?"

Sion and Safu were standing in the doorway; Sion holding the bright yarn hat that Safu had made for him with the help of her grandmother. He always liked the sweaters and scarfs that Safu wore and told her just that often. The colors were put together in a sequence and pattern that he wouldn't expect. It was art in its most practical form.

"Well, he's more a teen than a child, but yes."

"May I ask why?"

"He was hurt"

Sion didn't know if he should expose the fact that he had no real idea who Nezumi was or why he had such an awful wound. His newly found instinct told him that it wasn't a good idea.

"I see... He's asleep?"

Safu strained her neck in attempt to get a better look at Nezumi.

_I doubt it..._

Sion didn't think Nezumi was one to stay asleep through a loud expression of arrival through bells and knocks and calls. But his face stayed impassive as it drowned in his overly large pillow, so if he was awake he didn't want it brought to attention.

"He only stayed awake long enough to eat and get changed after I treated him"

"Mm, that was nice of you"

"It's only natural to help someone who needs it"

"No. It's only natural for you to help someone who needs it. Sometimes I wonder what happened for you to be so different from everyone else."

"Excuse me? I don't hink I'm all that different from you, or anyone further" Sion responded, slightly offended

"Sion, I'm not criticizing you, I'm criticizing everyone else. We were all in the same classrooms and had the same teachers with all the same curriculum, but you were never commonplace among the others. You were always so kind." She said her last sentence with an airy sort of awe.

She remembered how all of the other children would mock and ridicule her for her home-sown attire. They thought that they didn't have to abide by the common rules of courtesy because they were 'elites'. However, Sion was different. He complimented her on the colors of her sweater and even on her own appearance. It was a simple gesture but it was an authentic and kind one. That became her first and final impression of Sion; he was authentic, kind, and so off the beat and path that she was sure she could never match the rhythm or follow the tracks.

"Well my mother is very kind, so that could be the reason. Besides, you're kind too, Safu."

"Yeah, on the outside. Do you know how many times I almost hit the kids that made fun of my clothes. I mean, I've almost thumped _you_ a few times for your denseness"

She said this with her lip and arm movements blown so far out of proportion that Sion couldn't hold back his smile.

"I think you should think about that 'almost' part once more"

He rubbed his arm where there was a slight deformation in his skin from the impression Safu's fist had made when he told her that she didn't have to come over for his birthday. He only meant that she shouldn't be bothered, it was only a birthday and they both had their plates full with getting prepared for college. However Safu became very mad at this and her emotions transferred to her actions. Something you'd think a psychology major would be able to prevent.

"Besides Safu, I get mad at things all of the time, what makes you kind is whether you choose to act on your emotions or not."

"And you just told me that I acted on them."

"I mean to choose your battles. You're allowed to hit me once or twice Safu, I understand that I'm not the easiest person to deal with"

"I don't think you do"

"What?"

"I think it's impossible for someone as dense as you to realize just how oblivious you are."

"Safu," Sion gave an extensive sigh "Don't act like you know everything about me"

"I know more about you than you think!"

Sion noticed Nezumi tense in surprise at the shrill tone

"Safu look, why don't we just sit down and have some cake and then we can-"

"Sion, I only stopped by for a short visit. Although I want to, I can't stay long"

"Oh, alright"

"Sion, when we start school again, we won't have time to see each other too often."

"I know Safu, but we may be in the same classes and maybe-"

"Sion, can I ask something of you before we go off to college?"

"Sure, If I can manage to get it to you in time"

"Your sperm"

Safu looked unblinkingly into Sion's eyes, showing just how serious she was. Sion gaped at her open-mouthed.

"Did you hear me? I want your sperm."

"Uh- what? Safu... um-"

"Out of everyone I know Sion, your sperm would be the most superior specimen. It would produce a perfect child don't you think? What if I used one of the men's who used to make fun of me? Their children wouldn't turn out like yours would. I want it Sion. I want your sperm"

"You'd need permission for artificial insemination" Sion answered hesitantly

"Artificial insemination would be encouraged between two elites. Getting permission would be easy."

Sion swallowed and averted his eyes.

"Safu what do you want? A human being isn't entirely what their DNA base system tells us. You could know everything about my genes and DNA, but what's that going to tell you about me? You act like having kids will be easy-"

"I want to have sex with you"

The words rang with an unimaginable clarity through the air.

"Safu..."

"I don't want your sperm, I don't care about kids, or artificial insemination. I want to have sex with you. That's it."

"Wait uh... wait a minute Safu..."

"Right now"

Sion inhaled. He could still smell the cocoa that he had given Nezumi who was presumably listening to this all.

"Not now"

"Why? Because it's with me? Or because you don't want to have sex"

"I'm interested in both. I just don't want to do it, not now, with you"

"So it's because of me"

"No, my body would probably respond no problem. I just... I don't want to sleep with you on a spur of the moment"

"You know saying that means that you never saw me in that way?"

"I haven't. I only ever saw you as a friend"

"I can't believe it" Safu sighed in exasperation "You're such a kid. Whatever. I'm going home"

"Safu in two years"

"Hm"

"We'll be halfway through college. I'll have seen more things and I'll be less of a kid. After two years, I'll ask you."

"If I want to have sex?"

"Yeah"

"You're such an idiot savant Sion. I don't know how you made it this far while being so laid-back."

"Don't work too hard Safu"

"Oh, you can count on me working hard. I'll work so hard it will keep all of the boys away."

With a casual, charming raise of her hand Safu turned to walk out of the doorway.

"Always a natural"

A small whisper that was biting and full of gaiety caused both teens to turn and stare wide-eyed at the boy 'sleeping' on Sion's couch.

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><p><em>Thanks to<em> **MyNameIsSara**_ for reviewing. I love to hear what you think good, bad, revolting, anything. I want to know. Please._

_Thank you for reading!_


	3. Innocent Wash

_I haven't really been able to focus on my stories lately, so this is just a quick drabble._

_Disclaimer:I don't own No. 6_

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><p>It was morning, and Sion found himself changing the bandages of a fourteen year old boy.<p>

He had been housing Nezumi for three days now. It came as a surprise when the first morning he was woken by a delicious smell filling his house. In all honesty he hadn't expected Nezumi to stay; he would've left soundly and if they ever met again it would be by chance. Yet his morning was spent scolding the boy for cooking with a major wound.

Nezumi was quiet for the most part. He spoke when spoken to and used curt, one-syllable answers that gave Sion just enough information to know that he was alive and mutually content. He would ask odd questions about Sion's actions or words and wouldn't even keep the conversation when Sion replied. He didn't ask for help and didn't accept it if it was offered.

All of these things happened to annoy Sion to no end.

"You're going to get sick if you keep this up"

"What?"

"You haven't bathed since you were burned, am I right?"

"Yeah"

Sion leaned forward in his sitting position so he was looking up to Nezumi who sat before him.

"That's not good Nezumi. All of the bacteria on your skin will transfer to your wound and I didn't even have a tetanus shot to give you*. You really have to wash yourself."

"I can't get the burn wet."

"Well, I've been cleaning your wound, you just have to wash the rest of you"

Sion heard a clicking noise that he noticed Nezumi did whenever he tried to help or just before he asked Sion an odd question.

It was rather cute.

"What's wrong?"

"That's too much of a hassle. Besides, I've been through worse."

"I don't care. I don't want you to get sick on top of being severely wounded. I'll help you wash if you want."

Nezumi looked to him nonplussed.

"Are you an idiot?"

"I don't think so"

"Well you are"

"Okay. Why am I an idiot Nezumi?"

"Isn't it like, illegal, to do that in this city?"

"Do what?"

"A college student washing a kid."

Sion tilted his head and Nezumi sighed longly, closing his eyes.

"You wouldn't offer to wash your bestie's back right?"

"Well, she can do that herself"

"... You really are naturally oblivious huh?"

"Nezumi, I don't understand what you're saying. I'm just offering to prevent disease from spreading on your body. If that's illegal than doctors and parents would get arrested every day."

"How can I say this so you'll understand" Nezumi paused in thought "What would you think, if you walked in on your bestie and some guy taking a bath together?"

Sion felt heat rise to his face and even more so when he realized what Nezumi had been implying from the start. He spoke quickly avoiding Nezumi's piercing gaze that was slightly distorted from the smirk on his lips.

"W-why would you even... It's not like I would be n-naked too... you- you're just a kid... oh my gosh" Sion buried his head in his hands, trying to savor the rest of his dignity.

"That's what it would look like to other people."

Sion looked up from his hands "N-no it wouldn't!" And buried his head back into them. "What's the matter with kids these days?"

"We're only a few years apart. It's not that unimaginable"

"A-ah but... It's just..." He ran a hand through his snowy hair "It's just weird. At least I'm eighteen. You're just a little kid" He covered his mouth with the back of his hand, continuing to avert his eyes.

"I feel bad for your teachers"

Sion pouted "All my teachers say that I'm a joy... except when I space out."

Nezumi chuckled. "That wasn't really what I meant, but I'm sure that's a problem too"

"Huh? What'd you mean?" Sion asked, still getting over the blissful, blow of hearing Nezumi laugh.

"Nothing, it doesn't matter"

**...**

Nezumi watched as Sion continued to be doused deeper and deeper in color. The older boy's words were drowned out by the red stained on his cheeks and leaking through his irises.

Sion borrowed a queer expression where his eyes turned away and he bit his lip before covering his mouth with a hand that was tinted pink.

_Huh?_

Nezumi felt his chest tighten as he watched Sion. He considered that he might actually be getting sick, but he'd never felt that way before.

_No matter._ Nezumi wasn't one to fret over anything too long. He decided that everyone felt this way around the odd kid. _It would be hard to teach him with that feeling in your stomach._

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><p><strong>*Burns are prone to tetanus.<strong>_  
><em>

_I apologize for such a short chapter. I really haven't been able to focus on this and I didn't want the gap between chapters to drift too far, so this is what you got. Thanks to **monique007** and **Allena Moyashi Walker** for reviewing._

_Thanks for reading!_


	4. Gentle Tongue

**Disclaimer: I only own a tiny bit of this crap plot. Sorry to disappoint. **

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><p>"Promise me you won't leave"<p>

Sion knelt before Nezumi, changing the bandages once more during his preparation for his first day of college. Sion had been excited for this event until it was time to walk out of the door and leave Nezumi alone in his house. He didn't want Nezumi to leave.

Now, it's not like he would keep him away from whoever was in charge of him if they came. But until that happened he wanted to make sure that Nezumi was safe. It also wouldn't be beyond him to ask his guardian a few questions when they came around. _If_ they came around as the case may be.

"Why would I leave? Do you actually think I want to go back to the shit hole I was living in? If you keep asking it'll seem like you want me to leave." Nezumi's expression changed and he spoke gracefully "The lady doth protest too much, methinks"

Sion pursed his lips and tried not to be upset with Nezumi. All Sion had wanted was a clear expression that would allow him to go to school without worrying if he would be met with grey eyes upon his return or not. But alas, Nezumi was getting cheekier and cheekier throughout the moments they spent together, thus making any conversation harder to deal with.

"Nezumi, please promise me" He said gently after tying a tight knot to secure the fresh gauze and pressed his fingers to the floor.

Nezumi sighed. His eyes penetrated Sion's and spoke the words that would soon fall from his lips.

"I promise I won't leave"

Sion smiled and ruffled Nezumi's hair, standing up swiftly. He slung his bag over his shoulder and said his goodbyes to his new roommate. A pale hand was inches from the doorknob when the sound of knocking came from ahead.

Sion paused, his hand floating around the doorknob and the knocking came again.

Sion had a bad feeling.

He looked back to Nezumi who was staring quietly at the door, almost like a dog waiting to attack whoever had the gall to step in on his territory.

Sion closed his fingers around the doorknob slowly and pulled the closure open.

In the middle of the doorway stood a tall man with a careful smile. He held out a thin hand that Sion took instinctively. He spoke with a gentle tongue.

"Hello. Would you mind if I asked you a few questions?"

"U-uh... um"

_This has to be about Nezumi right? Could this man be his father?_

Sion didn't like that thought and immediately pushed it to the back of his mind. Father and son, no matter what blood relation, should never have such differing eyes.

Nezumi's eyes were like the tinted windows that every car seemed to be fitted with now. He could see you clearly but you couldn't see him unless you managed to get into the car with him.

But this man... his eyes were nothing. They were stagnant and murky in the most unappealing way. Sion almost cringed at the sight.

"Is everything alright young man?" The man's smile remained sowed to his lips as concern filled his tone.

"Yes, everything's fine. But, I'm afraid I don't have time to answer questions. You see, this is my first day of college and it wouldn't be too good if I was late."

"Congratulations" He said with mock enthusiasm "But I can send you in with an authorized note from the Security Bureau that has enough authority to dismiss a _month_ of absences"

"Ah, well I still wouldn't want to miss anything impor-"

"Young man, this will only take a few moments... as long as you cooperate" The last words sent a chill crawling down Sion's spine.

"Of course sir"

They walked into his home and Sion almost yelped when he saw that Nezumi had remained seated on the floor, just before the large passage to the kitchen. The boy only glared at the investigator and Sion could just make out a small clicking. The boy was either dumb - which Sion thought true in some ways. Nezumi probably hadn't gotten proper education, but he picked up on things fast and retained information well. - or impossibly brash. Sion couldn't believe that he hadn't made himself scarce.

Sion tried to heed Nezumi no mind as he lead the man to an armchair that angled away from the couch Sion had sunk into. Sion hoped that Nezumi wouldn't end up doing something tactless. He didn't know how well the child was at retaining his emotions but he seemed pretty capable at expressing his annoyance and anger - and those two words were written boldly across his narrowed face.

Sion was soon to learn how hard it was to keep emotions under control.

"Um, so what did you want to speak with me about?" Sion asked hesitantly.

"First, let me introduce myself. My name is Rashi and I am the Interrogations Official at the Security Bureau."

_Interrogations?_

"I'm Sion, 18, student at AAU. Nice to meet you."

"Same to you. Now, I want to talk to you about the child who went missing a few days ago."

"Alright, what about him?"

"I think it's a bit late to play dumb, no? As the child in question is sitting on your floor." Rashi advised with a smile that Sion returned.

"I wouldn't say that I am. I never denied the fact that he was here, I only asked what you wanted with him." Sion stated blandly.

"You knew he was missing then?"

"Eventually, yes"

"Then why did you not call the police immediately?"

"Well..."

"Answer my question. You don't need to rush, just give a clear and accurate answer."

"Well, he's young and severely wounded, so I wanted to make sure that he was going to be okay. Plus, it didn't seem like he wanted to leave."

"So you sympathized with this child, and kept him in your home. Not even thinking that his parents would be worried for him?"

"Well, I'm sure that if his parents were that worried about him then they would be here now" Sion said hotly. He didn't like the way the man addressed him as if he were a child that knew nothing. He knew enough to decide that Nezumi would be safer in his home than with the people who had driven him here in the first place.

"I'd advise you to calm down young man, I would like to make this as easy as possible." He continued to smile as he spoke icy words from a gentle tongue.

_Such a contradicting man._

"What do you want with Nezumi?" Sion questioned bluntly.

"Nezumi?"

"Yes" Sion gestured toward the boy sitting quietly on his floor.

"Well alright then. I would like to take _Nezumi_ and bring him back to his rightful owner."

Sion scowled and he felt the sharp pain of fingernails digging into his palms.

"He's not a dog"

Rashi's smile grew. "Yes, apparently he's a rat. I must say that you were kind in calling him something as appealing as that. I might have chosen something along the lines of bug or maybe beast. Really, he doesn't even deserve to be addressed at-"

"Shut up!" Sion shouted as he stood. "He's not some animal that lives in a cage, a person shouldn't be treated like this! It's people like you who did this to him! If anyone's a beast it would-"

Sion's words quieted as a hand closed around his wrist. He panted heavily as he looked down to Nezumi who was steadily returning his gaze.

"Relax Sion. Save your voice for yourself."

"Nezumi... he doesn't have the right to say those things."

"He can do whatever he wants Sion. I don't care so there's no way that you should." Nezumi let go of Sion's wrist and sat on the far end of the couch.

"Thank you young man" Sion sent Rashi a black look as he took his seat.

Nezumi smiled and spoke warmly "Your welcome, but I was only saying that someone like Sion shouldn't waste his breath yelling at a lowlife bastard like you"

"Nezumi!" Sion scolded halfheartedly, a smile seeping through his yell.

Nezumi's face stayed passive but Sion could sense a slight smirk in his eyes. And Rashi's sutured smile remained as he spoke bluntly.

"Yes of course. Your guardian is waiting so you'll need to come with me."

Sion looked to Nezumi who had been lounging in the corner of his couch. The lost boy opened his lips and a cropped sigh escaped, hastily being swallowed back. His brow wrinkled in what seemed to be anguish that disappeared instantly. Nezumi stood and turned to Sion.

"I promised I wouldn't leave you know."

Nezumi spoke like Sion was supposed to do something about that, so he tried.

"It's all right. I meant not to leave on your own. And if you _really_ feel bad" Sion leaned forward slightly as he spoke "then you'll just have to come back sometime."

Nezumi rolled his eyes but looked to Sion honestly as he nodded.

"Thank you for helping me. I'll pay you back somehow"

_Oh... That's what he said when I stopped him, when he first came._

Sion felt like his heart was caught in his throat, but he wasn't sure why.

"You don't have to pay me back. I was happy to do it."

Sion smiled as Nezumi clicked his tongue and even as he walked out of his door with Rashi at his heels.

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><p><em>I think my titles are getting too misleading. Do not fret, they shall be reunited in due time. In other words the next chapter. Thanks for all of the alerts and favorites. They are all so appreciated that I can't convey it with my vocabulary. Special thanks to<em> **Allena Moyashi Walker**,** MyNameIsSara**,** Moniqe007**,** whitetear**,_and_** Violin of Soup** _for reviewing. What I do next varies on what you guys think, so if you don't like something or want more of something I'd love to know._

_**whitetear: Yeah, I'm not going to do anything scandalous with a fourteen year old. Honestly I probably won't do many scandalous things at all. (unless they are insisted upon)**  
><em>


	5. Dead Eyes

**Disclaimer: I don't own No.6**

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><p>Snow crunched under Sion's numb feet as he sauntered down the winter-infected road. Frosty air burnt his nostrils as he took a deep breath, burrowing his rosy cheeks further into his wool coat. The barren street was glowing from the white snow sending back the sun's neglected warmth and the many dinners occupying houses' stoves and tabletops perfumed the late day air, almost making Sion break out of his lazy stroll in order to quickly make a meal of his own.<p>

He had walked to and from school every day for the past year and a half. Then after indulging on a humble meal, he would walk to his mother's shop and help to serve the last few customers and prepare for the following day. His 'home' and car were revoked after he brought in a missing boy. But that was fine.

As long as he could pay for it, he was allowed to attend school normally, for the rulers of No.6 didn't want to waste a mind like his by sending him to a low class school. He lived in a small, one room apartment that creaked and leaked from every corner imaginable. He worked for his mother through the week and on the weekends he could be found at the local pet shop, coated in suds while he washed the ample amounts of dogs.

He really enjoyed his life.

He liked to think that he had earned his life. He had used his own ability to acquire what he has today. It was much more rewarding than being trapped in the pristine world of white where everything was handed to you on a silver platter. But that was what he liked to think. In reality, he wouldn't have realized any of this, _experienced_ any of this if it weren't for Nezumi. He would still be living in that glass cage if it weren't for a small, quaint boy that had sneaked into his life through an open window.

Sion crossed the trough-infested road as he heard slurred yelling ahead. The piercing sound of a bottle shattering breached the loud voice for only a moment until it began wailing in an even less civilized manner. His harsh curses assaulted Sion's ears until he was chewing his lip to keep from yelling at the booze soaked man who was having a one-sided argument with his liquor.

"a-and... yoo bedder not think that I'm gonna le' yoo go bag on thah' s-huh-tage if yoo keep bein a bitch when I'm feelin' randy"

Sion felt vile creep up his throat simply from the man's ugly words that managed to seep into his nostrils and leave him with the aftertaste of booze and what he could only describe as garbage. He also slowly and reluctantly came to the realization that it wasn't the alcohol he was talking to. Worst case it was a person. And if it was... then Sion couldn't just walk away.

He sent a faint glance over his shoulder and felt his knees grow weak at the sight of a fat man screaming at a dark haired youth.

His schoolbag collapsed to the ground as he barreled toward the two, his strained yell resonating through the stagnant air. "Nezumi? Nezumi!" He screamed louder as the man shakily captured another bottle between chubby fingers and launched it towards the thin figure that now stood in front of Sion as glass crumbled against his shoulder. Ignoring the pain, he pushed back Nezumi's long hair, looking into dead grey eyes. Sion let out a sob and held frigid cheeks that were shaking from the cold. Nezuim's skin was pale and his feeble garment that went down to his thighs was drenched in booze. An inky bruise flooded his temple and his grey eyes were bloodshot.

"Nezumi!" Sion cried to the unresponsive boy that had colored his world. "Nezumi! Can you hear me Nezumi? Please Nezumi, please say something!" He hugged the boy tight and cringed as he felt a skeleton so clearly through his gloves. Hot tears fell from his eyes, collecting at the end of his chin as he turned to face the man who was yelling at the lifeless boy in his arms.

"What did you do! What did you do to him! Why would you ever... _ever_ harm this boy?" Sion's teary gaze blazed through the man who was staggering and looking at him like he was a wild animal, taking his prey.

"G-give me... the boy." He demanded groggily.

"Why? Who are you? What have you done?" His voice cracked as he yelled and he felt Nezumi lean unconsciously into his coat, humming in displeasure.

Sion lowered his voice. "Nezumi? I- I'm going to get you home, okay?" He looked down slightly to the cold, _cold_ body in his arms, and saw Nezumi's eyes flicker with understanding, and not rejection.

Sion placed one hand on a gaunt back and the other behind thin legs, slowly lifting the feather-wieght body into his arms. Nezumi looked to him sheepishly but his eyes drooped shut and he leant into Sion's coat, taking in long, shallow breaths that made Sion's heart ache.

"D-don' take h-him" The man uttered numbly as he leant against a dirty wall.

"I-I'm sorry, I need to help him." Sion knew that what he was doing wasn't acceptable. But... nothing good would come from leaving Nezumi with this man. "I'm so sorry" He gasped out as he turned and ran with Nezumi in his arms.

**...**

_Greasy, vile fingers trailed down dirty skin as foully humid breath coated the air. A maddening shiver traveled through his core as a slimy tongue crept up his thigh, and he mustered the strength to plant his foot into the offender's face. There was a grunt and a sharp blow to his forehead extinguished his sight. A cover clumsily slipped over a thin body and more hands grabbed at him greedily before a piercing crash sent disgusting liquid soaking into his clothes and hair. Harsh words dissolved in the cold air that chilled him to the bone, freezing his thoughts. _

_A new, bright voice came and it asked him questions that he wanted to answer. He didn't want this voice to worry about him. Warmth blanketed his shivering frame as someone offered him heat that he accepted fully. More words were said but the only ones that made it to his ears were 'Nezumi' and 'home'. He didn't want to burden the voice that spoke the words. He didn't want to owe the voice more than he felt he already did. He looked up to red eyes that quickly repelled any of the composure that he had managed to sustained, and his already thin will crumbled. The red eyes' body lifted him and he couldn't resist falling asleep in the warm embrace._

Grey eyes revealed themselves as pale eyelids were forced open. Nezumi felt awful and better than he ever had at the same time. His head hurt like hell and his body wouldn't move if he told it to. But he was warm... _so_ _warm_ it was unbelievable. Too warm for him to be outside or in his dingy little room. He tried to focus his numb senses.

_Oh shit._

He was staring into brown upholstery, accented with white hair that fanned out to the side. Warm arms wrapped tightly around him and a subtle hum consistently entered his perception. A thick blanket smothered his frame and he felt long clothes adorning his normally chilled body. His cheek rested on a bony shoulder and his chest rose and fell more from the breathing of the body underneath him than his own.

Nezumi quieted his thoughts and closed his eyes to enjoy the physical and figurative warmth while it lasted, but his resolve kicked in and his mind recoiled sharply at his actions.

He opened his eyes and lifted his head, opening his mouth to speak, but apparently, now wasn't the time for _his_ questions.

Flushed, dry hands pressed against his cheeks and lifted his gaze to a relieved, pale face that sent his mind reeling. The face was wet from tears and inflamed skin bared his worry and stress. A clumsy kiss comprised of a nose, lips and chin was planted on Nezumi's forehead and flustered words started rolling off of a hurried tongue.

"Nezumi, I'm so glad you're alright! You were so cold and you weren't responding and then you didn't wake up for so long and I didn't know what to do." Sion let out a shaky breath and squeezed his eyes shut during his pause. "Are you okay? Can you move properly? Are you still cold? Should I get you something-"

"Shut up for a second" Nezuimi grumbled as he tried to keep his dark gaze. "Where am I?"

"In my apartment"

Nezumi rolled his eyes. "Where's your apartment?"

"On the west side of town, only a few blocks from where you were." Sion sniffled as he spoke and kept his hold on Nezumi's cheeks.

"Why am I here?"

Sion gulped and hung his head slightly "I took you... from the man you were with, b-because I wanted to help you. He was yelling and throwing things and saying weird stuff... and I didn't want to leave you with him." Sion looked up to Nezumi and he almost cringed at how honest the red eyes were. Someone who was this open and… _oblivious_ couldn't be good. It just wasn't normal.

"Let go"

Sion looked to his hands and Nezumi could just barely make out the blush blooming on his already rosy cheeks as he removed his hold on the grey-eyed boy.

Nezumi slid off of what he reluctantly realized was Sion's lap and his newly slippered feet hit a creaking floor. He pushed a constricting blanket from his body and looked around. It wasn't much, but it was night and day to the home where he previously met the odd boy that was now only an inch or two taller than him.

Every wall was a different color and one was a mixture of every grey imaginable, like he was trying to get the right one. The kitchen was clean and obviously used to its capacity, with recipes floating here and there and a collection of cookware clinging clumsily to their cradles. The floor was composed of mismatched wood and Nezumi saw the flimsy one piece that had adorned his body previously hanging on the back of a wooden chair.

"Did you change me?"

"Yeah. I had to get your wet clothes off of you. My clothes actually fit you pretty well, despite you being so thin."

"I'm not that thin" Nezumi defended instinctually, hating the worry that seeped through Sion's words

"Yes you are Nezumi. You're the definition of skin and bone. I didn't even know what to feed you in case it was too rich, so I made some porridge and tea while you slept." Sion stood from the worn leather chair, walked the ten feet to the kitchen, and lifted the lid off of a pot. "Do you want some?"

Nezumi wasn't planning on staying here, he had work to do and he hadn't even paid Sion back for the last time, but a meal couldn't hurt. So he sat down in a creaky, squeaky chair, and waited quietly for Sion to lay down his food.

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><p><em>Okay, that took a while to get up. Sorry about that. Thanks so much for the alerts and favorites.<em>

**muertz**_: I'm glad you like it, I consider myself young in the fanfiction community so that means a lot. I am so perceptible to the 'its it's, their there, your you're' type things so, thanks for the heads up._

**MyNameIsSara**_:Yeah, I know what you mean, I actually planned for him to leave the first night, but I just couldn't figure how to make it flow from there. Thank you fir the review._

**Moniqe007**_: I hope it was satisfactory._

_Reviews are so incredibly appreciated. I want to know what's right and wrong, I'm just a young whelp so I need to learn! _

_**Thanks for reading!**_


	6. Thin Sheets

**Disclaimer: You get the idea**

**Warning: Not much. But I do want to kick myself for saying this story wouldn't be scandalous, because it is. So much for that. **

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><p><strong>Crash!<strong>

"Wah!"

Sion gripped his desk to keep from falling off in the shock of having his teacher angrily slam a book into it.

"Mister Sion" She started sternly "Would you like to tell me the reason why you find the outdoors more interesting than my class?"

Sion didn't mean to, but he glared. He wasn't in the mood to be yelled at.

"Do you actually want to know the reason or should I just pay attention?"

The teacher looked down her bony nose at Sion and replied caustically. "Well, since you insist, I would like you to inform all of the class of your thoughts."

"Fine" He answered curtly "I was thinking that Nezumi is such a... stupid... _idiot_, because just a few days ago I found him half-dead on the street. And then after I brought him to my home, _unfroze_ him, and put food in his... _dumb_ stomach, he leaves right out the front door as soon as I turn my back. Now I have to find him again before he's full circle dead. _Sorry_." Sion leaned into his hand boldly, and the teacher's lips thinned.

"I don't think it's a bad thing to have compassion, but I think that you should save that compassion for your future and not some dirty street rat."

"Don't talk about him that way! He's not just some animal that can be classified in a few words. He's better than that and should be treated as such." Sion, not understanding that people would take 'Nezumi' as an actual rat, was appalled that someone who didn't even know the teen would say such a thing.

They would hide themselves before, but lately Sion was catching glimpses of humanity rotting. The words people used that weren't understood a few years ago, or the crimes that were previously veiled by an innocent mind. The more Sion understood the worse things seemed. So now he just wanted to help whoever or whatever possible. But at the same time, he found that that wasn't the reason he wanted Nezumi to be safe. It was simple instinct that brought him to the point where he knew that it would be bad if the boy with unbelievable grey eyes disappeared. And now, Sion didn't know what he'd do if that happened. But it probably wouldn't be good.

"Well then, now that your outburst is finished, would you be willing to pay attention to my class Mr. Sion" The teacher asked as soon as she was over her shock and the rest of the class was through laughing.

"Yes. I'll pay attention."

**...**

**"**Sion, pay attention! I know you have a lot on your mind with that kid, but you might as well hear me when I talk." Safu scolded, walking side by side with Sion as they exited their campus.

"I'm sorry Safu. I haven't been sleeping much lately and I'm rather tired."

Thoughts of Nezumi had been violating his mind while trying to get rest. Thoughts of him beaten, battered, burnt, torn, frayed, half-dead, fully dead, sleeping, creeping, weeping, talking, walking, crying, dying, lying, smirking, smiling, laughing, old, young and clicking his tongue. Most of those were completely his imagination as Nezumi wore an emotionless mask for the most part. Still, they wouldn't leave him alone.

"Then I hope you'll agree to relax somewhere with me this afternoon"

"Somewhere?" Sion yawned.

"Yeah. I just want to walk around, go into a shop if we feel like it. I'm getting too used to everything being planned and scheduled."

"I know what you mean. I'll come, just let me stop at home real quick." Sion was glad that Safu shared some of his ideals in that their city wasn't the perfect community it was made out to be. There was too much structure and the stress to fit in could be suffocating. And then if you did stray from the structured path that was paved in perfection, you ended up like Sion. Or worse. Sion had been lucky since he was an elite, if not then you wouldn't be as fortunate.

"I'll give you a ride. It'll be easier that way."

Sion sighed. Whenever Safu came over to his place she always tried to clean it up or convince him to take a loan that they both knew he wouldn't be able to pay back. But it _would_ be more efficient. "Alright Safu."

**...**

Sion rounded his lips and exhaled sharply into a Styrofoam cup, steam blew back briskly in retaliation and he took a sip of the still blistering hot cocoa. The street was dimly lit from flickering bulbs overhead and the light glow of the moon was reflected in puddles. Sion and Safu strolled down the road, considering a trip into the few shops as they passed them. They were in a more barren part of the city, enough traffic to sustain minimal businesses but solitary to the point where there were never any lines. There _were_ drawbacks, such as the wild dogs that would go away only if you gave them part of your meal and the homeless men who followed the same protocol. But it was nice all the same.

"Sion, I think there's something going on."

"Hm?"

"Let's go" Safu's fingers curled tightly around Sion's and she jogged forward with an air of excitement.

"Wait- Safu, what is it?"

"Cheering"

"Huh?"

"Just _come on_ Sion. I heard cheering."

"Uh, alright"

They trotted about fifty feet and turned a corner. Sion's drink was halved and the sidewalk steamed from the new heat as he looked ahead to small crowd dispersing.

Safu huffed out a disappointed breath "I guess it's over now. I wonder what was going on."

Sion strained his eyes and peered through the scrambled crowd to see a modest platform that supported decorations and a few theatrically dressed people. He saw them bow and turn to leave the stage by the small stairs off to the side. His pace quickened along with his heartbeat when dark hair entered his gaze. It was a stretch, but he would take any chance he was given.

A vague protest from Safu was heard as he started running forward, making it to the stage as it was being expertly disassembled and folded up. It was just a big empty lot without the crowd and platform, but he saw people trickling down an alleyway that he knew was a dead-end.

Sion walked through the cold, wet alley - noticing and somewhat ignoring the fact that Safu hadn't followed. There was a short line of men and women that stared at Sion in a way that made his skin crawl. Grimy hands reached for him as he passed by and he wiped the sweat off on his shirt after he fended them off. At the top of the line, a man walked into a crumbling building after he handed another man a small leather pouch. No, wait... it wasn't just another man. It was the man that Sion had taken Nezumi from.

Sion tried to keep his composure as the situation sank in and he confronted the fat man with a small mustache leaning by the door.

"Excuse me?"

"Who d'ya want"

"Um, what?"

"Who d'ya want. Pick anyone from the performance."

Sion could only be thankful that the man wasn't wasted and didn't remember him from before, but apparently Sion hadn't properly let the situation sink in. Because he felt his stomach turn violently as he reworked his hypothesis.

"T-the boy with dark hair and grey eyes." He uttered numbly.

"Since you cut in line, and want our best, that'll be fifty"

"Fifty dollars?"

"What else boy?"

"Ah, no sorry. J-just a second" His wavering fingers searched through his pockets as he tried not to slam his fist into the man's fat gut. He would make sure to thank Inukashi later for giving him a raise; he just barely collected the fifty dollars that chubby fingers grabbed hungrily.

"Take a left an' he'll be in the back." greasy lips spoke as he counted the bills.

"A-alright"

Sion pressed open a thin door and was faced with a small path that was settled in between dirty, yellow sheets that hung from twine strung across the room in neat sections. The room was just as cold as the outdoors and the lighting was probably worse. It smelled of dust and the stained walls threatened to collapse.

He could see the shadows of people in the sheets. Three out of four sections in the first room had one person, sitting quietly on what Sion could only assume was a bed. Then one unit made Sion rush out as he heard grunts and saw a mass of sheets and limbs tangled together. The next room to the left was worse and by the time he reached the last he was out of breath, on the verge of tears as he looked between two sectioned areas that were stagnant. A long section was pushed to the side and a square one sat in the back.

Nezumi's was the back.

Sion pushed the thin curtain to the side.

Nezumi leant against the back wall, a bed to his left and nothing to his right. Sion shivered as he noticed the same one piece as the other day covering his thin body. Nezumi almost looked surprised for a moment, but it didn't last long.

"Did you pay to get in here?" His words were stale and he pushed from the wall so he stood erect.

"Huh, uh- yeah" Sion answered absentmindedly as he unbuttoned his coat in order to transfer it to the skinny boy before him.

Sion paused as he noticed Nezumi smirking and advancing towards him slowly. Nezumi's words were slow and smooth. "I hadn't planned on paying you back _that_ way. I didn't think you'd accept a payment like that. But I guess looks can be deceiving."

Sion didn't understand what Nezumi was talking about. His confusion level doubled as Nezumi spoke again, looking into his eyes as a finger dragged slowly down his thinly clad chest.

"I always had doubts that there was a person so oblivious. But you only had me fooled, huh? You're just like the rest, you only think from down here." Nezumi's finger stopped at the base of Sion's abdomen and his hand flattened against the muscle.

"Nezumi? What are you-?"

The grey haired boy continued to smirk as he gained a slight surprise in his eyes. "Oh, I see. You want _me_ to take charge." Nezumi stepped forward so his face was hidden from view, and Sion's brow knit as he felt a hand slink behind his back. His eyes widened and insides quaked as fingers slipped under his waistband. Sion snatched the wrist that was _barely_ outside of his jeans and he yanked it forward harshly.

"What are you doing?" Sion screamed in anger and offense that depleted in a flash.

In the split second when Nezumi revealed his face, just before the smirking mask was replaced, an awful expression with lips curled in hate, nostrils flared in anger, and eyes narrowed in resent was displayed on the thin face. Sion had put that expression on Nezumi's face; he had made him feel those feelings. And he couldn't be forgiven for it.

"Nezumi, I'm not here to hurt you." Sion whispered sheepishly. He didn't want to see Nezumi like this. He didn't want Nezumi to do these things thinking that this was all he wanted from him. Nezumi didn't deserve to feel that way.

"Of course, of course. You're just here to screw me." Nezumi's face shifted to a humbly passive expression and more plastic words floated from his lips. "So sorry your majesty. I was dense in thinking that royalty such as yourself would be that eager. Of course you would want to play a bit first, no?" Nezumi pulled from Sion's dazed grip and wrapped his arms around a scarred neck. Dry lips parted and a pink tongue slipped out.

Sion's body reacted before his mind and he pressed his hands harshly to Nezumi's chest, sending him staggering backward. Sion let out a shaky breath and gripped the sheet behind him, closing his eyes for a moment. He looked back into storming grey eyes and steeled himself.

"Nezumi please" He pleaded, taking a cautious step forward. "I-I'm not going to do anything to you. I don't want to hurt you." He prayed to the god he didn't believe in that Nezumi would understand.

The young boy's expression stayed cold and he spoke accusingly. "I know, don't worry. Everything's going to be alright so I should just relax, right? Make it better for both of us."

Desperation filled Sion's gut and he strode forward, grasping Nezumi's chin and tilting it upward, speaking with a brash tone that faded to a whispered grief. "Nezumi! Look at me Nezumi! I don't want this, okay? _I don't want this._" Tears stung at his eyes and he tried to fill every word with emotion to make Nezumi believe him. That unfortunately made his voice quake and crack more than it had in his entire life. "I-I'm not here t-to do anything to you or have you do s-something to me. Y-you understand that right? I-I don't want this, s-so... _please_ stop." Sion pleaded and dropped his hold.

Nezumi's face stayed cold and indifferent, but grey eyes washed over with realization and shaky knuckles slid slowly down Sion's cheek.

"... Sorry. I didn't mean... " Nezumi's words drifted off and Sion's fingers grazed the hand on his cheek before it was jerked away. Nezumi's hand paused in the air, clenched tightly, then fell to his side as he trailed to the bed and sat down. He propped up a knee and rested his arm atop it, supporting his head with a thin hand. A flat voice filled the room "Did I hurt you?"

"No. I-I'm alright. I was the one that pushed you."

Nezumi pressed his head further into his hand "Not like that. Did I... did I go too far at all?"

"Um, I don't think so." Sion replied lightly.

"Ugh" Nezumi looked to him incredulously "Well I guess you'd know if I did"

Sion sat beside him on the lumpy bed and leaned forward to look straight to the youth next to him. He spoke shakily. "Nezumi, what are you doing here?"

He lifted his head "Shouldn't that be obvious by now"

"Why are you doing this?" Sion asked, excusing Nezumi's remark.

Grey eyes looked to him skeptically, but they closed and a sigh was released. "Have you ever seen a play?"

"No"

"I have. They're... they're something else. The city doesn't like them though. I think it's because plays are exactly what No.6 wasn't able to be. Plays have a structured freedom, where you have to follow a script but can say it however you want and even change a line here and there. Rikiga, the guy out there, started an acting group but some guy payed him money for illicit photos of the performers. Things got somewhat out of hand, and now we're here. Nezumi explained himself blandly, waving a graceful hand waving in the air but Sion could see the passion in his eyes, the awe. Sion could imagine him on stage, he would only need to speak and Sion wouldn't be able to turn away.

"But, why are you doing it? No one can make you do something like this Nezumi." Sion didn't think that Nezumi would let people do this to him, no matter what.

"He wouldn't let us on the stage otherwise. I don't really care what I go through, it doesn't matter to me."

"It should!" Sion snapped, "You should care about your life and not let it get ruined by unneeded things!"

"I know." Nezumi barked lightly "I'm not just some pushover. Usually, whatever guy comes in here ends up in the hospital. And if it's a girl I just shove her out."

Sion felt a tear roll down his cheek "Why did you say usually?"

"Because it's true"

"What happens when it's not usual?" Sion asked, terrified to hear the answer.

"I shouldn't have to say that"

Sion tried to hold back. He really did. But his tears overflowed and his arms moved on their own as he pulled Nezumi ineptly to his chest.

"Let go." Nezumi growled but Sion only held tighter. Nezumi roared louder, almost childishly as he tried to push Sion away. **"Let go you old man!" **

Their fumble stopped and their gazes connected, Nezumi glaring with three of his limbs pressed defiantly to Sion's torso, and the former with a slightly offended but mostly distressed look. "Who are you calling old man... you brat." Sion drew back when faced with a glare that was obviously meant to set him on fire, and released his hold on Nezumi.

Nezumi shifted, and leant against the wall. "What are you here for in the first place?"

"I've been looking for you"

"Why?"

Sion made sure to look into the grey eyes that hooked him to Nezumi "Because I'm worried... and scared and anxious and I don't want you to be away from me Nezumi"

"So what? What will coming here help that?"

"I can talk to you, and see if you'll come home with me."

"I won't"

"Why? I can get you into a school and you can act there and you'll be able to get away from here Nezumi." Sion spoke desperately, leaning towards Nezumi.

"Even if you could, what would you do if Rikiga came and tried to take me back? Or that Rashi guy. What happens when you get tired of me, huh?"

"I would find a way to make them leave you alone and you shouldn't talk about yourself like you're something I'm buying on a whim. I won't get tired of you Nezumi."

Grey eyes narrowed. "Whatever. I'm not going with you. I just don't want to be anywhere near you."

Sion's chest throbbed. "What do you mean? Is it really worse being around me than these people!"

"Yeah, I don't care about these people at all and they won't care about me. But you... you'll care. You'll cry if I get hurt and scream if I leave. I already told you that I still owe you. I'm not going to screw up your life more than I already have."

"What makes you think you screwed it up? I love my life Nezumi and it's because of you that I do. And right now I can't sleep or eat and I probably failed the test in math today because I can't think of anything but you"

"What chick flick did you watch to want to say that?"

"Huh? None, I'm serious Nezumi"

"No you're not. I don't know what you mean, but it's not that."

"Yes it is Nezumi. A-and you can pay me back by coming with me. I'll be able to eat, sleep and focus and then... then if you want you can work at the pet shop with me so that you won't owe me for the rest. Please Nezumi, I don't want you to stay here." Sion ran an unsure hand through Nezumi's loose hair. He would do anything to have Nezumi safe at his side. If you asked him why he wouldn't be able to explain the reason. It just needed to happen.

"I don't care. I won't live with you."

"Then what Nezumi?" Sion half yelled "What should I do to get you out of here?"

"Nothing. I'll stay here and you'll just give up on bringing me with you"

"Nezumi, _please_. Don't do this, just come with me for a small while, and if you don't want to stay I'll let you leave."

"No you won't"

"You're right. I wouldn't, but you'll be able to leave anyway."

"I'm not coming with you"

"I'll steal you, Nezumi. Right now"

"You wouldn't be able to." Nezumi spoke skeptically, with cautious eyes.

"I've done it once. You're still the skinniest person I've ever seen. I could take you Nezumi"

"You'd seriously do it wouldn't you" Nezumi spoke almost proudly with a slight smirk.

"Yes"

"... I don't want anything other than to act."

"That's all you'll get"

"... I'll pay you back"

"Ill be waiting"

Nezumi clicked his tongue and Sion smiled.

"Fine, but Rikiga's not going to like it." Nezumi's last few words were muffled as his torso was pulled forward and his face pressed into Sion's shoulder.

Red irises hid beneath shut eyelids and Sion pressed his forehead into the curve of Nezumi's neck. He murmured lightly against Nezumi's skin. "I promise I'll take care of you."

"You shouldn't promise something like that."

"Only if I won't be able to keep it. But I will, I'll take care of you."

"I can take care of myself."

"Not well enough. I'll keep you healthy and happy to the best of my ability."

"Whatever, just let go. He'll probably try to come in soon"

"Wha- why?" Sion stammered and pulled away from Nezumi.

"Because you're taking too long. If it takes this long for someone to leave then they're either unconscious or dead."

"... Have you killed someone in here?"

"It doesn't matter, he's coming now."

"What? How can you te-"

Sion whipped around as he heard the curtain rip harshly to the side. Rikiga stood before them and time seemed to slow down in Sion's eyes as emotions flooded through him.

This was the man who hurt Nezumi. He was the one who sold not only Nezumi's, but also probably dozens of other people's bodies for his own gain. He ruined innocent lives and he had thrown bottles at Nezumi when he refused to do something awful and... _unforgivable_. He was revolting and the first person that Sion had ever truly hated.

Sion's mind was absorbed in a white, hot rage and when it dispersed Nezumi was tugging his arm, talking loudly. "Sion, what the hell was that?"

Sion looked down to an unconscious Rikiga who had a red ring around his neck that would probably end up as a dark bruise. "I-I don't know. W-what happened... is he alri- ?"

"Just hurry up, idiot," Nezumi commanded, still pulling uselessly on Sion's arm "he's got a taser up his sleeve somewhere, so we need to leave before he wakes up"

"Right, uh- w-what about the others?" Sion nodded his head to the section beside them.

"They'll be fine, they're like me. They don't want to leave; this is the only place for them. So unless you plan on giving them all a home we should leave, _now_."

"Ah, okay" Sion let Nezumi lead him out of the now eerily silent rooms, and when they exited only a few people remained in the line. They called out the name 'Eve' and Sion covered Nezumi protectively with his jacket and hurried away when he realized they were talking about him.

Sion had about a hundred questions, but right now he was just happy to be headed home with Nezumi nuzzling peacefully into his coat.

* * *

><p><em>So there's that. That one was pretty long compared to the others. The longer they get the worse my judgement is though, so I really need you guys to tell me how I'm doing on these ones... if you would be so kind. Thanks to<strong> MyNameIsSara<strong>, **whitetear**, and **Hermina05** for reviewing. They are always always always appreciated._

_To **whitetear: Yeah, I kind of want Sion to think of Nezumi as just a little kid, then when that changes the whole story will take a turn. You know, that kind of deal.**_

_Thanks For Reading!  
><em>


	7. Sound Sleep

Nezumi was already exhausted by the time he got to Sion's front door. Mentally and physically. Even if he wouldn't admit it to Sion, his body wasn't in a good condition. It was probably in its worst condition. But that didn't mean that he would let Sion carry him like he had insisted on after he got light-headed - for just a _second -_ and stumbled slightly. He would chew off his own hand before Sion was allowed to carry him. It already happened once and that had ended with Sion freaking out over him leaving and thus putting him in this situation. Hell, half the reason he agreed to come was because he knew that Sion _would _take him by force, and he wasn't willing to take that blow to his pride right now.

"Nezumi, are you just going to stand there?" Sion questioned him while he unfolded a couch, transforming it into a bed.

"Is that where you sleep?" Nezumi asked, crashing down on the brown chair he had woken up in not too long ago.

"No, I have a bed in the other room. I just figured you wouldn't want to sleep with me, although I'd prefer that you did." Sion replied aimlessly.

"Why would you prefer to sleep with some dirty kid?" Nezumi didn't get this guy. You're most vulnerable while you sleep, but Sion wanted to share a bed with a complete stranger that could easily end his life. And he probably wanted to do it just so that he would know if Nezumi left during the night. So he could sleep without worrying that he would leave.

"It would be warmer"

Nezumi blinked "What?"

"You're _really_ thin Nezumi. You don't have any insolation and I don't exactly have the best heating system. It would be warmer if you slept with me."

"... You really are weird."

"Why? Just because I want you to sleep through the night?" Sion asked briskly, tossing pillows onto the newly made bed.

"No, because you want me to sleep through the night with nothing in return."

"I will get something in return. I'll be able to know that you're at least well rested."

"That's not a reward. That's just self satisfaction, you're just doing this so that you can tell yourself that you did something good." Nezumi argued.

"What I'm doing isn't exactly good, don't you think? I just kidnapped you and I'm telling you to stay in my lower than standard house. I could have reported this all to the police or something else more logical, but I just wanted to make sure that you were with me. So I selfishly brought you to my home, I'm no saint Nezumi"

"I know you're not. No saint is so incognizant"

"Hey, I'm not as clueless as I used to be you know."

"So you admit you were clueless."

"Yes. And I think I'm still naive, but I believe everyone is to some extent. No one knows the true amount of hurt and suffering that goes on in the world and I think we should just do our best to ease the pain of the people around us."

Nezumi narrowed his eyes "So you took me in out of pity, not for the satisfaction."

"No!" Sion raged clenching his fists. He took a calming breath and eased his grip. "No... I don't know what happened for you to have such mistrust towards me. But I brought you here because I wanted to. Because I don't think I'd be able to function properly if I didn't."

Nezumi held up his hands in defeat "Okay, okay." He didn't care what the reason was. It was just that his mind would be at ease if this was all just a scheme for Sion to acquire something; that he wasn't the only one getting something out of this.

"You need to take a shower Nezumi"

"'Need' is different than should"

"Fine, I would like you to take a shower so that you don't stink up my couch."

"Yes, your majesty"

**...**

The longer Nezumi lay in that unfamiliar bed in an unfamiliar home the more his legs shook with the anticipation to run and run until he was out of airhead range - however far that may be. This was an unpredictable, untamable situation and he was foolishly planning on staying in it. Sion wasn't a person where strategies and mental games would work, because Nezumi never knew what was going on in his mind. The moment he thought that he had Sion's personality pinned, he was caught totally off guard. But right now, he was in a situation where if he lasted long enough without fucking everything up, it would work out. He would steer clear of the white haired weirdo even while living in his home and hopefully he'd be able to get into school. He never had an opportunity like that before. It's not like he was exactly teeming with excitement at the thought of being trapped with hundreds of other kids while rigid adults told him what to do, write, and even think. However, education leads to jobs, jobs lead to money, and money can be used to pay someone back. No matter how long he stayed here, if he abused his standing to his utmost ability then he would be able to pay him back for everything.

The problem was what he'd do after that. How he'd leave without Sion flipping... but he'd figure that out later. All he could do right now was keep as much distance as possible from Sion. Which would probably be difficult considering how much that guy liked to talk to him and how his first stay with him was spent completely by his side. Sion hadn't changed much since then, so things would probably be the same if Nezumi didn't do anything.

Sion proved to be persistent in fucking up his plans.

"Nezumi, are you alright? Why are you still up? It's... three in the morning."

"Not tired. You're up too." Nezumi answered bluntly

"You look tired to me. And I just came in to check on you."

"I'm fine"

"If you're cold you can sleep with me"

"I'm not sleeping with you"

"Are you cold?"

"Warmer than usual"

"So you're cold"

Nezumi sighed and turned over, covering himself in thin sheets while he shoved his face into the pillow. "Go away" he grumbled

"I will if I know you're going to sleep"

"I don't even care, just shut up." He really didn't at this point, he was barely tired and honestly, he _was_ cold. But he'd had worse nights. He didn't need to snuggle up to someone's chest and have them sing him a lullaby just because he was a little chilled.

"What are you doing?" He mumbled as he felt the bed sink from extra weight.

"I thought you didn't care?" Sion answered as he slipped underneath the covers, a foot or so beside Nezumi "If you still don't fall asleep I'll leave, okay?"

Nezumi looked to Sion's calm face and mumbled "... Whatever" as he closed his eyes.

It took about thirty seconds for Sion to shift enough that Nezumi was breathing in the breaths he just let out. "If you move any closer this'll turn into something a lot more interesting." Nezumi whispered in exaggerated longing.

"I just want you to sleep Nezumi"

_This guy's such an idiot._ Nezumi could jump him right now if he wanted to and the moron probably wouldn't even know what was happening until it was too late. This was the worst type of person to end up connected to... in any way. Sion was oblivious, moronic, and completely incoh-

"Good night, Nezumi"

... incoherent. He was just so unbelievably-

_inhale, exhale... inhale, exhale... inhale, exhale..._

... no one could be that... oblivious and

_Babump... Babump... Babump_

... and... and... _warm._

Sion smiled as Nezumi's breathing deepened and a wiry body curled heedlessly into his chest. Sion's finger's settled just before a pale ear and he guided them through lengths of dark hair, faintly surprised that grey eyes didn't shoot open.

The sleeping boy in front of him seemed so different than the one encased in grimy walls and sheets, smirking while doing something so remarkably indecent. Sion understood that those actions in themselves weren't bad, but his reasons were. It was out of hate and anger that those actions came about. From the way he said it, Nezumi would've put up a fight if it was someone else. Sion could only think that Nezumi was trying to scare him, or reveal him if he had been some lecherous person. Sion didn't like to believe that Nezumi would think he would do something like that to him.

When Nezumi had advanced on him... when he _realized_ that Nezumi was advancing on him rather, he felt three of the most logical emotions a person could feel in that situation. Yet, the reasons he felt them were irrational. He had felt, disgust, rejection, and fear. Disgust at the thought of Nezumi doing these things to the men and women waiting outside; at the thought of those men and women doing things to him. Rejection at the idea of the idea of Nezumi being scared of him. Sion was probably being vain in thinking this, but seeing Nezumi's expression wrinkled in such disgust, made him believe that Nezumi had, at one point, trusted him... even if just a tiny bit. He didn't want to ruin that trust. And finally fear. Fear of himself and his thoughts. He had been so mad. So _furious _at the people who hurt Nezumi, that he felt the urge to... to do awful things to them. He had blacked out in rage and knocked a man twice his size unconscious. It was a scary thing.

But everything was alright. Nezumi was safe and for the moment Sion was able to be involved in his life. If everything worked out... well everything would work out. Things would be good; things would be better than ever if he could pull this off. He just... really wanted to be with Nezumi. It didn't matter in what way, or how it happened. Sion was ecstatic simply from laying here now, cautiously wrapping an arm around the young, frail boy that had completely devoured his composure.

**...**

Nezumi was rarely embarrassed. In fact, the last time he remembered the feeling of heat rushing to his face was probably out of fear or anger. But this feeling was definitely embarrassment.

He had fallen asleep right after Sion entered his bed. That for one, sucked. Next, somehow through the night Sion had managed to trap him in his arms, which Nezumi didn't understand at all. He had trained himself to wake up if anything even made a sound. Maybe his sense hadn't deemed Sion enough of a threat, but he planned on changing that. Then, after a few moments, Nezumi noticed _his_ position. Arms curled tamely against his trapper like a kitten; his head pressed softly into the chest so it looked like he was listening to it. He was ashamed to say the least. But what really put the shit icing on the excrement cake was that Sion was still asleep... and in Nezumi's disheveled mind, he had a fleeting thought to curl up tighter and go back to sleep. Embarrassment was adamant.

So he pressed his hands to Sion's chest, pushed as hard as he could, and tore from the bed before Sion could realize what was going on.

* * *

><p><em>Just a transitionish chapter. A bit of harmless fluff, some of Nezumi and Sion's thoughts. You know, the works. Hope you guys liked it. Huge thanks to the alerters and favoriteers. <em>

**YukoSama: _Muchas gracias, por la revisión. Creo que es interesante, uno de los mejoreselogios, así que gracias. Estoy emocionado de tener Nezumi y Sion estar celoso. Va a ser divertido. (lo siento si mi español apesta)_**

**Hermina: _Yeah, my Nezumi is kind of watered down. Like, I think I'm going to have his personality grow into what we know it as. (If I can pull that off)_**

**MyNameIsSara:_ Thanks so much for all of your reviews. I do it because of you guys._**

_Thanks for reading!_


	8. Frozen Time

A sad, half open book had generously sacrificed the purity of its defenseless pages to the wrath of impatient fingers as crimson eyes followed the dull shiftings of a thin teen beneath thinner sheets.

Sion was waiting patiently for Nezumi to fall asleep. God knows how much the boy needed it. Sion hadn't exactly been fond of the day's events and Nezumi even less so. An easy morning spent eating and talking had masked the draining events to come.

Sion had taken the initiative to infiltrate West high school, the lower class of the two academies within No.6 but the one more fitting for Nezumi. Sion had sat across from a boney man while he tried to explain why the boy beside him needed to get into school. The boney man had a name tag that read P. Rick, which Sion decided had to have been a prank, yet the man held out his hand and introduced himself as principle Rick, so Sion kept his inquiries to himself. Nezumi refrained from saying much, but Sion was well aware at this point that that would be better. Other than Nezumi having a smart mouth, he also needed to save his energy as he had been maintaining a low fever since Sion found him.

The man asked questions with answers that Sion knew and didn't know. He asked questions about himself and Nezumi. The questions were both important, unneeded, and either overbearing or underwhelming. In the end, Sion had been told to acquire medical and personal information for Nezumi and come back another time. Thus, a trip to the doctor's office was made and Sion received various documents and notes that Nezumi could hand to someone to affirm his state and situation in case there were any problems. Sion also went home with a goody-bag of prescriptions and instructions to help Nezumi's well being - although he had low expectations for the patient to accept that help, Sion would try his hardest to make him.

And he had done a pretty good job.

Two, four-milligram sleeping pills had been ground up and mixed into the applesauce that was now settled in Nezumi's stomach. Sion just had to wait for them to take effect and then go to sleep himself.

Nezumi shifted to lie on his back, allowing Sion to watch the transition from a creased brow and huffed exhales to relaxed features that were shrouded in a soft, rhythmic breath. A wave of calm passed over Sion and he mentally thanked the doctor for supplying the pills. He had heard countless stories from Safu about insomnia patients that ended up with major psychological problems. It was hard to tell with Nezumi if he was stressed or not, however you _could_ tell if he was sleep deprived; no energy, under-eye bags, mood swings, and random naps throughout the day. So, needless to say, Sion was relieved to have a trump card when things got out of control. He could finally relax, and go to sleep.

Almost.

Sheets stiffened and Sion's sigh blended with the lingering sound of a tacky doorbell.

Sion looked apologetically to a drowsy Nezumi - heavy-lidded expression sprinkled with annoyance - and stood from his brown armchair. Sion stopped before the door and took a deep breath; afraid of who might be behind the door and whom they were here for.

Sion let out a long exhale and hung his head when he saw Safu in the doorway.

"You had me worried for nothing" Sion spoke to the floor with a soothed voice, but Safu proved his words wrong as he was cuffed firmly across his head. "Safu! What was that for?" Sion asked, clutching the sore on his head.

"You tell me" Was the curt response and Safu stepped past Sion and into his home, stopping as she noticed the mildly bitter teen nested in his futon. "Is that...?"

"Yeah... he came here a few days ago." Sion paused as he remembered the night he found Nezumi and jumped unintentionally when the person who brought him to Nezumi's location came to mind. "Oh my gosh... Safu I'm so sorry." Sion's head jerked toward Safu as he spoke, feeling even worse when his gaze wasn't met.

"What are you sorry _for_?" Safu asked accusingly as she sat in Sion's chair, crossing conceited legs.

"I'm sorry... _so sorry_ for leaving you there. I saw Nezumi and I... I just couldn't focus on anything else. I'm so, _incredibly_ sorry Safu." Sion held his begging expression until he got a faint glance from Safu and saw her brown eyes roll forgivingly.

"Fine, but you owe me."

"Alright... but try to make it cheap. I don't have much money rolling around right now."

"Sion, you _never _have money rolling around... but if you're keeping this kid here than it must tough."

Nezumi 'tch'ed' and sat up slightly, leaning on his elbows. "Hello to you too" He said cloyingly sweet. Nezumi ignored Sion's 'tsk tsk' expression and instead focused on the loud girl that he hardly remembered from their not quite meeting two or so years ago. She had black hair that swept her shoulders and wore a fitted sweater and grey sweatpants. He had a fleeting thought that she wasn't an elite, but it was shoed away by the platinum bracelet circling a delicate wrist. Her name and ID number would be engraved neatly onto the streamline accessory that displayed her ranking. She did that well enough by herself though. Not in the fact that she was an elite, but in how she made him think of Sion as a dog, and her his owner.

Safu smiled, but Nezumi could tell her mood was stuck in the mud. "Sorry, I'm Sion's friend Safu. I hope he hasn't troubled you too much."

Nezumi took an odd sense of assurance from the way Safu said that. It gave him the feeling that she understood Sion and, somehow, part of what Nezumi felt about this situation. She knew that Sion could be overbearing and that Nezumi's worst fear was being too involved with someone of that nature. He didn't know how, but she did.

Nezumi gave her one last look and relaxed his body, plopping back beneath his sheets. He responded sluggishly and closed his eyes. "It doesn't matter. He didn't force me to come here... and I've done worse to him than he's done to me... so it's fine."

Nezumi could almost feel Sion's smiling gaze boring into his skin as he drifted, once again, off to sleep.

**...**

Green numbers flashed to 11:00 as Nezumi opened his eyes and confirmed his suspicion that Sion had drugged him: he hadn't slept that long in a while. The air was stagnant and testified to a certain airhead's absence, however it _was_ a Monday, so he'd be at school with his bestie.

This was the fifth day he'd spent at Sion's house and the third one while he was away at school. Both weekend and school day had their ups and downs. Weekends had proved to be overwhelming and controlling with all of the things he was forced to accomplish, or _try_ to accomplish as it may be. School days were dull and spent rereading the trickling selection of novels in Sion's home. There was also on odd anxiety of wanting to accomplish something. Doing nothing for the eight hours Sion was away made time seem so precious. Time needed to accomplish everything he wanted to.

Nezumi slipped from the bed and took a small amount of amusement in watching his oversized clothing tumble and fall back into place. The cold floor nipped and scratched at his bare feet while he headed towards the kitchen; lead by his growling stomach. A dull ring flushed his thoughts with resentment towards the bell that had woken him the previous night.

Grey eyes latched onto the protesting doorknob and instinct told him to climb out of the window. But time forced him to take refuge in the closet just as the locked door crunched open.

It was Rikiga. Indistinguishable steps that were scattered and heavy shouted that fact loudly into his ears as Nezumi tried to bury himself deeper into the clustered closet. The steps passed by his hiding place and wandered the rooms clumsily while Nezumi tried to shovel whatever thoughts he could over his emotions, burying them deep.

He wasn't scared, mad, or even annoyed. He would be fine with those feelings. It was the feelings of relief and haughty satisfaction that were troublesome. Nezumi felt like holding his head high simply from Rikiga coming at a time when Sion wasn't here. There was a possibility that Sion would walk into the door later in the day, knowing nothing of the trespasser out for Nezumi. Sion would be preserved, mind and body, and Nezumi wouldn't have to worry about doing permanent damage to the man he'd already broken.

When footsteps stopped heavily outside of a closed door, Nezumi's raised head fell. He didn't trust his hiding place if the door opened so he bent before the closure, propping himself up on his hands and foot, holding an eager leg in front of his crouched body. Nezumi quieted his breath as the handle fumbled and a soft light slowly painted the wall.

Nezumi's readied leg shot out as a figure came into view and the large body fell to the floor with a grunt after a teen's heel connected with his crotch. Nezumi dashed over the thick body, heading for the open door when fleshy fingers pulled his leg out from underneath him and tripped him face-first into the cold floor.

Warm blood seeped from his nose and the hand around his ankle dragged him backwards until he managed to flip his body around, all too late.

Nezumi reaped one good look at a disgustingly cocky Rikiga before a shooting pain came from a sharp pinch on his arm.

'_Second time I've been drugged in one day' _Was Nezumi's bitter thought as the room blurred and his muscles forcefully relaxed.

**...**

"Yeah Safu... No I know, I know. I'm just coming home for lunch... Yeah, I just want to check on Nezumi, I'll be back later... Yeah, I'll see you then." Sion flipped his phone forward, hanging up from his call with Safu as he stepped foot into his small apartment complex.

Sion hadn't come home for lunch before, but he never felt the need to. Today though... today he had a bad feeling. First, when he had a glass of tea in the morning, his cup chipped. Then, a (self-proclaimed) well-deserved nap in math class revealed a bone-tingling nightmare of a rat being skinned and eaten. Plus, to top it all off, his not so graceful awakening in class earned him a detention, and a point off his grade.

So his rattled nerves had ushered him home and sent him trampling up the building's steps. He bounded down the hallway and skidded to a stop in front of his door.

His broken door.

Sion's heart caught in his throat and he wished the same would happen with his breath as he started panting heavily, every gasp seeming much too small as he numbly pushed against the door. Its hinges creaked at the slightest touch and a small push sent it yawning open. His stomach tightened as he tried to speak, but managed to grate out a few words.

"Hey... Nezumi... I'm home."

Sion buckled against the doorframe when silence was his only reply. Red eyes wandered a stagnant room and an awful scene flashed before Sion's eyes.

He saw a large figure with too little composure to pick a cheap lock breaking down his door. A human with a snarled stride wandered the room hungrily, shoes wet from snow, looking for the teen that had taken refuge in a now scattered closet. A heavy mass had taken a spill and cracked his flooring a few feet before a boy collided with the ground and was pulled backward, leaving a smeared pool of blood littered with a few long hairs. Any struggling stopped and Nezumi's captor made it about two meters before stumbling slightly at 11:04, toppling Sion's clock from its perch and breaking it on the floor as he exited the room.

Sion felt ill.

Not nauseas, or light-headed, or weak. No. Sion felt nauseas when he dissected a frog in class. He felt light-headed when he got an F in math. His body was weak after running two kilometers in gym. That was much different.

Sion felt like his body was disgustingly repulsed by it's own insides and wanted them gone, even if the only way to do that was to make them churn and scarred and tortured until Sion took it upon himself to cut open his flesh and take them out.

Sion groaned in pain as he tried to keep his emotions from colliding head on with his train of thought.

_Okay... Nezumi was taken about an hour ago. Rikiga took him... most likely. He couldn't have gotten too far by then. But he could have done a lot of things. Nezumi could be hurt... really bad. He might even be... okay no. Make sure that doesn't happen and go look for him. I-I'll call Safu and she can help. But I can't really move right now. No, I have to. Okay... I'm coming Nezumi._

_Wait for me._

* * *

><p><em>Geez, my updates are stretching. But I think I'm back in the swing of things, because it took me three days to write the first section of this, and about an hour to write the rest... so I think I'm doing better. You guys have me pumped with the alerts and favorites as well. I'm trying to make this story good for you guys... I don't know how well I'm doing but we'll see. This is the first story I'm writing where I don't feel like it's <em>just_ a 'learning experience'. I still plan to learn from this, but I won't be experimenting like in the others._

_**moniqe007: **Way to be proactive and thank me ahead of time. You're a go getter kid. Or whatever, thanks for the review._

_**YukoSama:** Sí, en realidad me da una buena idea de lo que no se debe hacer, así que gracias. Realmente lo appreaciate. Y por cierto ... mi español es de Google Translate, así que sí._

_**spiel: **Thanks a lot for reading and actually taking the time to review._

_**Tomoyo-chan284: **Thanks so much, age differences are tricky 'cause I like the younger one's personality and traits to grow throughout the story. But, a lot of people won't be patient enought to deal with however many chapters of OOC'ness. So that means a lot. Oh, and I hope this answers your Safu question._

_**Thanks for Reading**  
><em>


	9. Futile Search

**I think I already said this (like fifty times) But I thought 'you know what... why not. So, I don't own No.6**

* * *

><p>A dull fog of melded voices and the hum of power lines shrouded Nezumi as he forced his eyes open. His muscles protested with a medley of aches and pains when he tried to move from his spot against a splintered headboard that clawed annoyingly at his back and whose posts prevented his wrists from budging against the ropes tied around them.<p>

It didn't take an idiot to figure out what was going on, boy lying unclad on an unusually nice bed, digital camera and the tripod that supported it perfectly visible in the plain room. You know, real classy stuff.

Nezumi fiddled with the knot that clamped his hands together for a few calm moments until he could shimmy his hands free from the mangled twine, glad to be free even if he couldn't move enough for that to cause any difference. A glance sent through an open window showed the source of the humming as malfunctioning power lines sparked a few feet outside the building, accentuated by the dark night air. The lingering sunlight stretched across the sky and grabbed for the vague half-moon that was just out of reach. The room looked old, with cobwebs and dark spots from moisture clouding the ceiling and had a musky smell of sweat and urine. The only thing remotely clean was the cold bed he was laying atop.

Nezumi's body ached in the way it always did after waking from a hazy, unplanned sleep, with stretched muscles and a foggy, unwanted burn he could only get from knowing that someone had gotten their way with him, lacking his agreement. It was a burn worse than the one he had gotten years before on his shoulder when an oddly supplied customer of Rikiga's came on a bad day, and Nezumi was awake, rearing and ready to brawl.

Nezumi focused his senses but couldn't distinguish any other existence besides the bird freshly perched on the windowsill. That was frustrating. He could leave so easily if he could just _move, _and now that he couldn't, no one was even around to entertain him. _Figures_.

Nezumi let his mind drift, and tried to blow the sail away as it floated toward white hair. But a few half-hearted breaths wouldn't be able to alter his stubborn mentality. He wondered what Sion was doing and what he _had_ done when he came home to a broken house. If it was Sion he probably just fainted right there and then; the precious house he had gotten on his own scratched and the person he _'couldn't live without' _snatched. Sion had probably been up at nights thinking about stuff like that, 'cause that's the kind of practical, straightforward idiot he was. Sion was probably out on the streets right now, screaming his name even though he wouldn't answer if he could.

**...**

"... Safu... that's enough... I can't yell anymore... we should just start breaking down doors, 'cause he's not going to answer... even if he hears us he won't." Sion's words came out in breathless chunks as he bent over, resting gloved hands on his legs.

Safu pat his back slowly as he caught his breath, speaking in contrast with her soothing gestures. "You were the one who wanted to check the streets first. If you really want to find him then I'm not opposed to snapping some necks" Sion looked up to Safu disbelieving and she shrugged offhanded, "Trying to lighten the mood. I don't think you should get so worked up Sion."

Sion stretched his back and sighed. "I can't help it really. If I'm not worked up, then I'll probably just break down, so we need to keep moving and find him." Sion jolted and continued his jog down the barren street, his voice being engulfed in the night air as Safu's worried calls came from beside him. "I'm sorry Safu, I'm just scared that by the time we find him something bad'll have happened. I need to keep looking or else I'll just think of worse and worse things until I can't think of anything else." Sion slowed his pace as they came upon a row of alleyways in order to properly yell down and search each of them from the sidewalk.

"Sion, he's not a little kid. He can take care of himself, right?"

"He _is_ a kid Safu. He's a thin kid with a fever that was living with someone awful against his will. He's a stubborn little brat who won't accept help unless you shove it down his throat, and who doesn't know kindness when he sees it. Nezumi's just a helpless kid who was taken by a disgusting drunk." Sion had to stop before he started screaming at Safu, who did nothing to deserve such an action. He was just being stupidly mad because she was overestimating Nezumi... although he _was_ aware that the opposite was being done by himself.

Even if only slightly.

"Sion, I'm sure he's fine. He's probably more troubled when he's with you than not." Safu assured positively.

"You sound just like him Safu." Sion replied absently "He'd say the same thing... but you've told me before that the one trick that always works on people is you treat them opposite of what you think you should. I think that I should stay away from Nezumi and not help him at all. So that means that I have to smother him like an over-protective mother."

Safu sighed and nodded begrudgingly. "Yes, and you are the exception that proves the rule, because your emotions are so straightforward that it's almost impossible to misunderstand you."

"Right, so I think that I should just let Nezumi be right now and he'll be fine. But my instinct, and your rule, says that I need to haul ass, find him, and then pester him until he gives me some kind of sign about what he's feeling."

Safu sent him an unsure glance but resigned. "... Whatever you say Sion... you know him better than me."

**...**

"Oh, welcome back. If you don't mind, could you get me some clothes? I'm a little cold." Nezumi said sweetly as Rikiga entered the room once again.

"Ah, shut up you brat." Rikiga yawned, casually raising his hand to click the camera and Nezumi hid his face and curled his body as a flash ignited the dank walls. "Tch, you're more manageable when you're unconscious, even if it's hard to get a picture as good as when you're up."

Nezumi glared and stretched out, crossing his legs "I don't get how that shit sells. I wouldn't want to see myself naked and knocked out so I don't know why someone else would pay to."

Rikiga took the camera from its stand and leant against the wall as he examined whatever disgustingly lecherous pictures were showing on the other end of the dumb device. "There are all types of people out there kid. Lots of em' are willing to give anything to see such a _vulnerable_ picture of Eve." Rikiga lulled with a sickening purr.

"Well maybe if you'd quit drugging me they could see a more _appealing_ one." Nezumi matched Rikiga's purr with his own humiliating growl as he arched his back in a stupidly coy manner, but Rikiga ate that stuff up.

The camera clicked and Nezumi's shadow painted the wall, a maddening annoyance stung at the teen as he held his stance, staring down Rikiga.

The man looked to him, half lust half suspicion and spoke dumbly. "You're asking for it kid."

Nezumi swallowed his biting words and instead breathed "What if I am?" while bending his head and raising his gaze to Rikiga, taking a deep breath and tightening his grip on the wooden post against his back that he had wriggled free from the headboard.

Rikiga glowered, but walked forward at a pace that obviously wasn't held back very well. He bent over Nezumi and the boy leaned up to meet him. Inches from his face, Nezumi recoiled and spit into the man's eyes, whipping his armed hand forward.

His hand suddenly went past his weapon and Nezumi grimaced as he saw round fingers holding the wooden post. He quickly shifted his mindset and sprung his head forward to crash it into Rikiga's when another hand clasped around his mouth and shoved him harshly into the mattress.

"You damn brat!" Rikiga shouted, "When the hell did you get so damn arrogant? The only way you'd get me is if you were twice as old and me twice as drunk you pompous bastard!"

Nezumi peered through his contracting eyelids and gave a smoldering glare to Rikiga, bending his legs and shooting them to a protruding gut.

Rikiga moaned and Nezumi sunk his teeth into the man's palm as his grip loosened. Rikiga pulled away and Nezumi reached for the pillowcase he had severed earlier, thrusting it over the large man's head and kicking him to the floor.

Nezumi stared at the dazed man on the floor and positioned himself carefully, throwing his leg in front of him and punting Rikiga's head, savoring the satisfied chill that ran through his body. Nezumi bent to the floor, taking the camera and Rikiga's jacket from his stunned body and wrapping it tightly around himself. Nezumi lifted himself through the window, and left with a blunt "Fuck you"

**...**

Sion sighed and bid farewell to Safu as he turned into his apartment, void of a skinny teen. After being consoled by Safu, he was positive that Nezumi was at least alive and mutually unharmed, since it would be in Rikiga's best interest to keep Nezumi in decent condition. But he didn't know how long he would last without Nezumi. School was out of the picture for sure, that would waste all of the time he could spend searching. Sleep was also going to be a rarity along with proper meals. He wouldn't be stable enough to work so any basic commodities would be hard to achieve. It almost made Sion a little uneasy that one kid could totally take over his world, but it didn't matter, because that precious kid was missing.

And he needed to be found.

By the time Sion pulled from his thoughts he was opening the shattered door to his apartment. He looked around, half expecting Nezumi to be sleeping soundly in the futon, but not surprised when it was empty. Sion sighed and dropped his jacket to the floor.

He glanced to the kitchen, but wasn't hungry, and trudged to his room and pushing the door open.

Sion almost collapsed as he saw Nezumi changing in the middle of the floor.

Nezumi gave him a small glance before buttoning the last few buttons on his top and attempted to brush by the deflated form of Sion. Which was the most obtuse thing Sion had ever witnessed.

"Hold it." Sion commanded reaching a hand out to the side and clutching Nezumi's arm. Sion kept his eyes on the floor seeing as he could barely resist tackling Nezumi to the ground simply by seeing his pale little toes furling into the carpet.

"What is it?" Nezumi asked bluntly and Sion pursed his lips and released a grumbling shriek into his mouth, falling to his knees and clutching his head.

"YOU WENT SOMEWHERE" Sion proclaimed in a barely suppressed yell and almost smacked Nezumi when he answered.

"Yeah"

Sion took a deep breath and looked up to Nezumi, his head falling to the doorframe in a not at all composed manner when he saw the marks on the boys face and neck; inky bruises, vague bites, and crescent cavities that came from long fingernails. He hung his head and breathed in his overgrown sweatshirt, quieting his voice. "Where'd you go? Are you alright?"

"I don't really know where I went and I'm fine." Nezumi's voice held the tiniest bit of compassion, probably from seeing Sion so broken down, but left the man there anyway and Sion heard footsteps trail into the living room. Pale hands pushed against the ground as Sion scrambled to his feet, his insides vibrating uneasily as Nezumi left his side again. He dashed into the living room and stopped to a grinding halt in front of the futon where Nezumi was seated comfortably on the edge, facing away from Sion.

Sion's pale fingertips just barely grazed Nezumi's blue-grey hair before pulling back. He didn't want to touch Nezumi in a way that might hurt him. Like everyone else.

But, he did want Nezumi to look at him. So he reached his hand forward deciding that gentle would be bad, and hooked a rough finger under Nezumi's chin, pulling his head towards him.

Nezumi couldn't bring himself to look at Sion, he couldn't explain why... but he didn't want to see hear or touch Sion. So when he was forced to look by being touched because Sion wanted him to listen... well he wasn't happy. "_What do you want?_" He asked harshly and regretted it as he saw Sion cringe.

"Nezumi... you're being unreasonable. You were just kidnapped for a day and you won't talk to me. So, what happened?"

"Rikiga took me and when I woke up I left and came here."

Sion flattened his hand against Nezumi's jaw and spoke sadly. "How did Rikiga take you? Why did you have to wake up? How'd you leave and from where? How'd you get here? You need to tell me everything Nezumi."

Nezumi opened his mouth to speak, but his words weren't what Sion expected. "Why do you need to know?"

Sion kept his gaze and spoke surely "Because then I can help you. I can know what to do and what not to do and how to act. So I want you to tell me Nezumi."

Sion prepared for a long night as Nezumi gave another offhand answer. "Why do you need to touch me to ask this?"

Sion smiled dimly and pressed firmly into Nezumi's pale skin. "Because... it lets me know that you're here... in front of me and alive. And maybe it does the same for you. It tells you that I'm here for you and within reach."

Nezumi looked at him with his unforgettable gaze and spoke again with defiance. "Can't you tell that by looking. I'm right here, it's obvious. It doesn't make sense to have to touch someone to know that."

Sion got angry at that. Not a reasonable angry per se, but an understandable one, since he was positive Nezumi was only saying this to be difficult. So he raised his voice and turned his head absently from Nezumi "It doesn't _have_ to make sense. They're your emotions and little, irrational things can set them off in every direction imaginable. You were the one that made me realize that! I was just some cookie cutter student before you showed me that I was an oblivious, naive... _kid_ with emotions that couldn't be predicted or described by simple words. You of all people should know-" Sion turned his head to Nezumi and his words lumped in his throat as he felt warm breath tingling his lips and grey eyes pooled into his own.

An indescribable instinct made him lean forward and he jumped as he got a face full of hair.

"N-Nezumi?" He asked clumsily to Nezumi whose head was sunken low so his hair draped a curtain separating the two teens. Sion had to fan away the cloud of emotions that surfaced from his thoughtless, unexplainable action so he could listen to Nezumi.

"Sorry. I was surprised that someone like you would think like me." Nezumi stayed quiet and Sion couldn't figure out how to respond, so he opted for lifting a section of Nezumi's hair and brushing it behind his ear. He was rewarded with a glance from Nezumi before the boy sighed and straightened himself. "I'm tired. I'll explain tomorrow. But I want to sleep right now. So you'll have to wait."

Sion smiled lightly and leaned forward a bit. "Fine, but I'm gonna have to sleep with you." Sion said, totally expecting Nezumi to be too tired to argue.

"No. You're not sleeping with me."

"Huh? Why?"

"'Cause I might do something stupid."

Sion tilted his head and responded unknowingly. "What if I _want_ you to do something stupid?"

Nezumi sighed and lay down on the bed. "Then you're denser than I thought."

* * *

><p>Yay. It's up. I don't know if it's good, but it's up. I enjoyed writing it so maybe you enjoyed reading it. I don't know. Thank you <strong>Tsukiyo <strong>for reviewing. They're always so appreciated.

_Thanks for Reading_


	10. Rough Morning

_You guys are all smart and intuitive and stuff like that, so most of you have already pretty much guessed what's going to happen. But whether you know or not, it was going to happen, so here we go with this story that has characters that I don't own. (Did you like my super sneaky disclaimer? No?... Well I did)_

_Just another short little transition chapter._

* * *

><p>"Why the hell are you waking me up?"<p>

"I'm sorry Nezumi"

It didn't matter how 'nicely' Sion tried to wake him. Gentle touches and soft words were easily devoured by Nezumi's fierce animosity towards this particular action. Nezumi was never fond of mornings - marking a new day and new troubles - yet, they were at least tolerable when he could control when they started. Sion hadn't tried to cross that line yet, and even now he was only sticking his toes over. But it didn't matter. The line was there for a reason, and no matter how quietly you cross it, no matter how carefully, a footprint would still remain.

Sion's soft voice floated in the air. "We need to go, alright?" Fingers pulled from Nezumi's hair and a sweet smile coated the room like syrup, leaving a heavily tender feeling that Nezumi hated. It was the kind of feeling you had to take a shower to get rid of.

"Go where?" Nezumi sat up and rubbed his groggy eyes, studying Sion as he pulled two coats from his recently trashed closet.

If Sion was going to wake him up, he thought it would be about yesterday. Nezumi was grateful that Sion let him have a night's rest before trying to interrogate him, so he was prepared to talk, not drag himself out of the building.

"School"

"Your school?"

"Uh-uh, your school"

Nezumi's head recoiled and the tired teen blinked dubiously. "Technically, I don't have a school." He started in an admittedly insolent tone as Sion tossed him a coat "But, why do you want to go there so early and what makes you think I'll come?"

Although he said that, every little sigh or frustrated flux in Sion's movements let him know that he really had no choice. That, and he was already aware of the problem being addressed and the bags under Sion's eyes showed how quickly the typically carefree guy had realized it himself.

"Nezumi, I don't want to argue with you right now. I know it's early, I know it's troublesome, and I know that you shouldn't really be out of bed right now. But we need to do this sooner rather than later."

Sion seemed like he was half here. Where his other half was, Nezumi didn't know, but it probably wasn't a good place. The pacing was starting to irk Nezumi and he was ready to tie up Sion's fidgeting fingers so they'd stop tapping on every surface available. "Nevermind, I'll be a good boy and go, but you're not allowed to cry."

"W-what do you mean?" Sion whipped to him and asked with big eyes that were just waiting to fill with tears, giving the push that rolled Nezumi's eyes.

"I meant what I said. That school has dorms, right? And you don't want me to stay here because I'll get hurt if something like what happened yesterday comes to pass again. So now you're pushing me into the dorms because you think that the school will be safer. And I'm saying that I'll comply like the obedient dog you want me to be, as long as you don't start being all dramatic and get me damp when you try to hug me with a face full of tears." Nezumi cringed inwardly at the blaming tone his voice carried. He didn't care if Sion wanted to shove him off to be someone else's burden. He didn't. Really. It would be better if Nezumi didn't have to worry about all of the debts being built up. It didn't matter either way.

"Nezumi..." Sion sighed and walked to him slowly, kneeling delicately beside the bulge in the blankets that was Nezumi's legs. "I'd just... rather you be safe, and away from me, than beside me in danger." Sion leant to the side so his legs folded exhausted out to the side. "No one should be able to reach you in school... and my school's not too far from there. So, I can see you as much as I can now, while knowing you're in safe hands. I just... I just don't trust myself enough to keep you safe Nezumi."

That was interesting. Nezumi had thought that Sion would drag him through hell and back if it showed that the idiot was the best thing for him. Sion had uttered too many desperate words about him needing Nezumi for the teen to expect to be tossed to the side. But... that wasn't really what he was doing. This was actually the man sacrificing his sanity to keep Nezumi happy.

It was almost sickening. Nezumi didn't need this. He didn't need to be pampered and shipped off in a dog cage so that he wouldn't run away again. This... this was almost offending. Yet... it wasn't sickening, and it wasn't offending. Nezumi didn't have the chance to feel repulsed at Sion's actions because he was too busy marveling in the pure honesty in them. Sion had no ill intentions, not a speck of selfishness dirtied his blindingly white existence. Sion was doing this out of sheer instinct and thoughts about Nezumi's wellbeing; he was a bear taking care of its cub. That was all.

"I'm fine with going. But don't you think you're trusting the school too much?" Nezumi paused and watched Sion's expression morph comically from confused, to sad, to offended, and finally a worried expectant that was asking Nezumi to elaborate. "I'm just saying that you shouldn't expect a place to be safe simply because it has authority. Especially that school." Nezumi wasn't trying to make an excuse so that he wouldn't have to go. No, there would be no reason for that. He just didn't want Sion to cry over him if he got hurt there.

"I know Nezumi" Sion clutched the sheets beneath him like he was trying to hold his hands back. Nezumi could only guess why. "I just think that it'll be safer there. I can't do anything... not a single thing if someone comes to take you away. But they might not even think to go to that school, and if they do, they might not take the risk of going somewhere so public to get to you. Nowhere... will ever be safe enough so that I don't worry. But, I just wouldn't be able to stand it if I did nothing right now and you were taken again"

_God... this guy._

When Nezumi became so incapable that such a moron felt the need to worry, he didn't know. When he became so docile that he actually reached out a hand to comfort that fool, not even god knew. But he did all the same. Nezumi leaned forward and threaded his fingers through Sion's snowy white hair that perfectly portrayed the man's naivety, and simply did the best he could at holding an honest gaze with the deep, crimson eyes that always managed to jar him.

"I'll be fine. Even if you don't believe me, I will. I know you don't see me as any more than a little brat, but I can take care of myself. So you'll just have to trust me on this."

It was stupid really. Nezumi could bring an audience to tears with a few well-read lines, but the most he could figure to do now was speak softly, as if that would show he was sincere. He just... didn't know how to be fake in front of someone so real.

Sion smiled his overly sweet smile and reached up his hand to meet Nezumi's, taking it and holding it gently to his cheek with closed eyes. "Thank you Nezumi. I'll try to remember that you're not the well-done kid that came in through my window. But I've always trusted you, so don't act like I never did"

Nezumi swallowed a sigh and pulled away his hand as Sion stood and held out his own to the dark haired teen. Nezumi almost smiled at the challenging gesture. As if he would ever take that hand in the first place, but Sion's defiant expression was telling him that if he took the help he was being offered then Sion would never give up. Once Nezumi accepted his hand there was no going back, Sion would continue to think of him as a helpless kid forever, never giving him a chance to do something in return for those stupid, heartfelt actions.

This kid was getting more interesting.

"No" Nezumi growled, standing up roughly. "I'll sleep with you, I'll let you drug me, and I'll come back to you like a boomerang if that's what you want. But I can walk on my own."

Sion smiled and slipped on his coat. "Okay, just wanted to make sure."

* * *

><p><em>Yeah, transition chapter, blah. But, we'll get to the important stuff next. <em>

**whitetear: **_Sion had no idea what Nezumi meant. He was just thinking that something stupid might not necessarily be bad. _

**muertz: **_Thank you for pointing that stuff out, because when I was proofreading I knew it was wrong. I just had a feeling, but I was too lazy to try and figure it out, so I deserve to be called out. Thank you for your wonderful review._

**YukoSama: **_Muchas gracias una vez más. Sus comentarios son siempre tan dulce e informativo. ¿Está mal que me alegro de que te hizo llorar? Probablemente._

_Thanks For Reading  
><em>


	11. Drunken Desire

_It has been so long. So very long and I apologize._

_**I obviously don't own no.6**  
><em>

* * *

><p>"I don't know what to do with him Safu" Sion whined, laying his head on the glossy bar counter, watching flashy fluids float into a clear glass that was placed softly before his hand.<p>

"I don't know what to tell you Sion." Safu started sternly "You haven't told me what you're upset about." She lifted her own glass with soft fingers, taking a sip of the brightly hued brew. "All I know is that the kid you took in, isn't with you anymore."

Sion sighed and leaned into his hand, giving a distasteful glance to the drink Safu ordered him - sure that it would help him relax - and fiddled with the small SD card in his pocket - an item found inside a half-crushed camera at the bottom of his rubbish bin. "He won't let me near him." Sion mumbled, embarrassed that his context could be applied more to an animal or toddler; much less a full-grown teen.

Safu pursed her lips and looked to him sympathetically; a nice gesture considering how little information Sion was giving the confused girl. She spoke patiently, in the way you would to a small child. "Why won't he see you Sion? Did something happen?" Gentle fingers, still cold from their drink, wrapped around the white haired man's - urging him to speak.

Sion sighed another sigh and pouted only slightly- Safu had to give it to Nezumi, he could really put a killer expression on Sion's face.

"I just messed up too many times." Sion explained softly, looking off into a distance that wasn't there. "He... he told me not to cry but I cried. He told me not to hug him but I did. I tried to kiss him the next day - on the forehead" Sion added when Safu gave him a queer look "And then before... we were out getting him clothes, and he told me about what happened when he was taken. And I sort of had a breakdown in the middle of a store. But, I don't think that was the problem. I think he was upset when I asked if I could touch him. He said 'no' and I asked 'why' and he said 'because my touch is different from yours'. I didn't understand and he got frustrated and I think that was his last straw." Sion finished with a small questioning glance that was desperately expectant; hoping for an answer that Safu couldn't give.

"Um... uh- I really don't know what to tell you. I uh-" Safu stuttered while trying to figure out how to console Sion without giving away something that wouldn't sit well with Nezumi. "Then... I suppose you just need to give him space, right? H-he's not upset with _you_ Sion... mostly. He's just upset with his situation." Safu replayed the words in her head, not positive they were the right ones. Even less sure as Sion finally preyed upon his beverage, and not in the most subtle manner- swishing the drink in hand, watching the liquids flow round and round before taking a large swig, ending with a small cough.

"I put him in his situation Safu. I'm at fault. I just wish I could talk to him though. I haven't heard his voice in three days" Sion ran a frustrated hand through his white locks, pressing his forehead firmly into his palm as he pulled against his hair. "I want to see him Safu"

Safu's chest tightened and she rolled her eyes at the oblivious man that had no place trying to take care of a teen. "Then go see him. He can't stop you from going to him Sion. Just think about what you're going to do first." Half of her didn't feel like giving this advice and the other half just didn't want to have to do it later if Nezumi slammed Sion's heart again.

Sion stared at his drink, thinking it all over, and replied unsteadily. "Y-yeah, I'll do that."

**...**

Nezumi sat back on his bed with a book in hand, very much enjoying the silence that would soon be ruined.

His school wasn't as bad as it was made out to be. The place was overly nice with a full bathroom and air conditioning in each dorm room. The reason for the bad rep were the rich kids that paid their way into the school when they couldn't get in by their grades. Presumptuous little brats that would stay on their high horse even if it were shot down.

He had full access to an incredible library and most kids left him alone as soon as they found out he didn't have any money or perks for them to leech off of. It was nice.

Sion was the only problem. He just didn't know how to handle the damn kid, so much so that he was shutting him out completely until he could figure out a decent plan. Every word that oozed out of that oblivious mouth of his simply sunk into Nezumi's core with disgusting vitality. Sucking out his will and turning him into a fumbling idiot that couldn't handle the simplest touch. He hated that the one person he needed to be composed in front of could screw him over so easily.

A knock at the door came and Nezumi became aware of the book that had fallen carelessly from his hands and into his lap sometime during his thoughts. He let his feet hit the floor and heard a heavy thud outside of his room. A large amount of time was spent standing before his door, contemplating whether or not to open the closure, but a strong feeling tugged at his gut and told him who it was. So he (reluctantly) opened the door.

A white head fell to his feet and crossed legs swung into the air. Nezumi looked down to a surprised, flushed face that seemed to be deciding between smiling and crying. A direct question was followed by a dawdling response.

"Are you drunk?"

"... A little"

Nezumi let loose an overly stretched sigh and spoke with his back turned to Sion, walking to his bed. "Close the door behind you"

Sion jumped from the ground with amazing rigor for someone so seemingly wasted, and walked calmly to sit beside him on the bed. The man took a deep breath and hooked their eyes together. Cutting straight to the point, he spoke wearily. "Are you happy here Nezumi?"

_Damn... this was going to be another vague conversation._

"Happy isn't something I'll be just because I'm at a certain location. I'm fine here. I'd rather be here than at your place."

"Are you okay with everything that happened before?" Sion asked sleepily, falling against the wall behind Nezumi's bed.

"I'm fine. I've been through worse, I just want to know how you got drunk." Nezumi explained, opting for a subject change rather than having the conversation he felt like he'd been through a million times.

Sion looked to him with a pout and sighed, falling completely to his side and onto Nezumi's mattress. "I was talking about you with Safu, and she told me something about letting you be... not bothering you, and I got mad." Nezumi shifted to look at Sion whose head rested behind him and saw the man wrinkle his brow in thought. "That was when I lost control a bit"

"Stop getting mad for other people... idiot." Nezumi mumbled, giving in to the temptation of weaving that strikingly translucent hair between his fingers. He kicked up his legs so they fell beside Sion's and asked lazily. "What do you really want here?"

Sion's head fell to face him and red eyes gazed to him with a slight fear that was hiding behind a great desire. White hair touched Sion's shoulder as it shrugged upward and his hand entered his pocket. Nezumi watched as lithe fingers pulled a small data chip from the pocket.

_Shit_

He hadn't told him about that. He hadn't wanted him to be any more upset.

Sion stared intently at the rectangular piece of torment that was going to give Nezumi a prompt kick in the teeth and held his mouth open in wait for the right words. Sion spoke and Nezumi's body deflated in a silent sigh of relief. "I didn't see what was on it." Sion looked up to him and licked his dry lips. "I didn't want to cross any boundaries... and I was scared to see. But, I want to know what's in this." Sion's gaze leaked into his own and Nezumi decided he didn't like staring down at Sion while they had this conversation. He slid mildly into place beside the intoxicated man that somehow gave off the smell of booze without being nauseating and smoothly took the chip in his hand, snapping it clean in half.

"It's me, naked on a bed. And no one's going to see it." Nezumi pressed the halved chip back into Sion's hand and watched the drunk's flushed face gradually turn down to it and back up to him. Nezumi stiffened completely as Sion's arms rounded him but forced himself to relax. Sion's face pressed into his chest and Nezumi sighed largely. "Sion, look at me" He commanded, clicking his tongue when Sion shook his head stubbornly. He couldn't tell if it was the alcohol or if Sion was always this perverse, but it was annoying.

Nezumi backed away from Sion's hold and pressed a finger to his warm forehead before the moron could shove his face back into his shirt. "Look at me idiot." Sion frowned but slowly raised his head and Nezumi got a good look at his face; red from both alcohol and tears and swollen from both tears and his childish sulk. Nezumi smirked and wiped away the boyish wetness. "What's with that look?" He asked quietly. "I thought I was the kid here."

Sion's head blasted against his chest in brief retaliation and looked up to him with a sterner... more composed expression. "If you weren't a kid then I wouldn't have to worry about you like this."

"You shouldn't worry about me at all"

"I have to" Sion released his hold and leaned fully against the wall behind him, curling his arms to his chest protectively. "I can't help it. A-and I can't give you space like Safu wanted... I'm sorry but I can't. That's like cheating to me... I don't want to try to act a certain way so that you'll be comfortable. I'm sorry, but I can't do that. So I'll worry and you'll know when I do." Sion looked to him, parted mouth and wide eyes, obviously frightened of Nezumi's reply... justly so.

This was what he meant. Every word this moron spoke made his composure slip little by little.

"What do you want from me?" Nezumi asked, voice nearly shaking with putrid emotions that varied greatly from the ones moments ago. "What the **fuck** do you want from me?" He repeated violently, emphasizing his profanity with a fist slamming into the wall by Sion's head.

Red eyes flinched but the man remained otherwise calm, taking Nezumi's hand in his own and pressing the newly raw skin of the long fingers to his lips. He mumbled tenderly, "I want you to be safe."

Nezumi's breath quickened; fueled by his battling emotions. He wished he had gotten mad... yet he couldn't bring himself to be angry with the person gently falling into rest before him. Nezumi's dumb heart that should have been scooped out long ago pulsed seeing the long fingers wrapped around his own and something hit him as his gaze fell upon their coiled wrists.

This sleeping man... was awfully small.

When Nezumi met Sion... he was an adult well off enough to support the two of them no problem. He had a strangely strong will that was incomparable to his own.

When he woke up days ago, held in firm arms that wouldn't release until he himself gave the command, it only confirmed the man's strength.

When the teen was ushered back to an apartment by that same man after being embraced and watching him swiftly take out the creep enforcing his troubles, Nezumi thought that Sion's mental and physical strength were not only great but frightening.

However... that wasn't right at all. Those actions weren't made out of strength or skill. They were used childishly with selfish desires, carried out in fear. Sion... really was a child- a weak youth with a wrist smaller than his own. He was stubborn and if something was important enough to him he would do anything to get it. Even the most stupid, dangerous things. Not even thinking about what that could entail.

Nezumi had let this child protect him.

Sion was trying to be his armor. A rusty, broken armor that would hinder more than help. Sion would throw himself in front of any danger if he thought it would possibly keep Nezumi safe.

Idiotic. How absolutely idiotic they were.

Sion for doing those things and Nezumi for letting him. He had heedlessly let this weak man become his shield and only now did it become apparent that it should be stopped. Nezumi would be foolish no longer. He owed this man- this boy his life and was supposed to do anything to repay him.

So Nezumi would protect him. He would.

A lot of work would need to be done first. Nezumi needed to get stronger, in mind and body, until they could both live safely. Because, in protecting Sion, he needed to protect himself. Or else Sion would be hurt.

So for now... he had a drunk to find.

* * *

><p><em>So sorry for the long wait. Medical problems and stuff had me dead from fanfiction. <em>

_Thanks for all the alerts and favorites. Special thanks to my reviewers: **Hermina05, YukoSama, Aislinn Flynn, Someone, and Rokutousei. **You're all awesome._

_Thanks For Reading_


	12. Wasted Breath

Heat ran up and down his body with an overwhelming attitude. It shrouded his skin and filled his lungs as he strained his throat to bring in air that was only strangled in a murky hotness. A soft, suffocating heat was laid over his entire being, only interrupted by the cool the tips of his fingers were submerged in. A thought that was dragged out of the dense fog his mind had evaporated to in the blaze wondered where he was. It took hordes of more daze soaked thoughts and feelings for his brain to gather up the courage to wake his literally hot and bothered body and rouse it from its hibernal state.

Sion snapped himself upward in an immediately regretted decision that left him clutching his protesting head as throngs of muscae volitantes* filled his vision, as if lights of alarm warning him of the awfully dumb action he had already committed. Pain trudged dully through his temple in an unrelenting march as he opened his eyes to assaulting light. His only savior were a pair of piercing grey eyes that seemed to suck in the glare and halt the annoying little feet stomping on his brain.

"G-good morning?" Sion said sheepishly.

"Morning" Was the tired and… mocking response?

Yes, definitely mocking. A dim twinkle that Sion wanted to bat away loomed in Nezumi's eyes, whispering jeering words that he couldn't quite make out. Sion inflated his cheeks with a sulk weaved breath and looked around gently as to not agitate the soldiers threatening to stampede through his mind at the slightest nudge. The blankets suffocating his lower half explained the fore threatening heat and the carpet beneath him told the tale of why he was looking straight to Nezumi's chuckling eyes, even though the boy was lying down.

"You have no right to laugh. You were the one who kicked me off." Sion said tersely as he nursed his abnormally sore head.

"Oh, I would never." Nezumi said in mock desperation. "I was only worried about that naive little head of yours. Something so pure mustn't have a good tolerance to a near poison."

"Poison?"

"Yeah. You do remember don't you? Wobbling into my room in your drunken glory and passing out on my bed." Nezumi sat up and stretched gracefully, longly crossing those elegant fingers over his head and around thin arms in what could've been a performance.

"Uh..." Sion uttered dumbly, throwing his thoughts into the cage that kept them from constantly bounding after Nezumi's figure. "Um, yes. I remember... so, this is a hangover?" He questioned.

"Sure is, and a pretty decent one at that. I'd give you top marks, if there was a score sheet for being impaired after moronically trying to inhale a solution to your problems in the form of alcohol."

"I'm honored"

Sion choked on a cry as five rough fingers pulled him up by his throat. The lack of air only agitated his throbbing head and an icy voice slowly chilled Sion's spine. "Don't be." Nezumi threatened with narrowed eyes. "I have to pay you back for my life, so I won't let you ruin yours. Stop shitting yourself by getting so worked up about worthless things or you'll break down. Everyone has problems. You know that much. But being an idiot doesn't solve any of them."

Nezumi dropped his hold and Sion doubled over, gasping for breath. He panted out broken words. "I don't... understand... the problem."

The sound of a tongue clicking opened the door to Nezumi's barbed words and the finger that gingerly lifted Sion's chin. "Listen." He growled, "I'm not going to tell you this again, so commit what I'm about to say to that elite memory of yours. You're naive and weak. Anyone could take advantage of you at any time. And despite your quirks, you're what normal people would call good looking. So not only will creeps be able to take advantage of you, but they'll _want_ to. So if you wander around defenseless, drunk or not, they won't miss their chance. Understand?"

Sion gazed into Nezumi's icy eyes that promised to melt if he simply nodded his head. And so he did. Sion raised and lowered his chin and Nezumi's eyes returned to their normal, neutral state that left hallow canvases of grey, which Sion could get caught up in so easily. The back of Nezumi's fingers brushed down his cheek in less of an apology, and more of a reward for his agreeance.

"Good boy" He praised lightly as he slipped from his bed, running a quick hand through Sion's hair and walking to a pile of books and papers that coated a desk settled by his door. Sion watched Nezumi languidly, entranced by the simple moves he used to align this or flip through that. It was all done efficiently, not putting forth any more effort than needed to complete the single task in front of him and moving seamlessly onto the next when one was finished. This is how Nezumi did everything, and it was probably how the boy would deal with him as well. Sion was a task for Nezumi. Sion was only an item on his to-do list that he had yet to check off. Nezumi would deal with him until he had paid back whatever he needed to. Though, Sion still wasn't sure how much that was or if it was any at all. In his mind, Nezumi had saved him as well; saved him from the oblivious fate of living in a world he knew nothing about. Nezumi had roused his curiosity, and it wouldn't be sated with the simple answers or vague responses that Nezumi loved so much. He wanted to know everything about this world, about himself, about Nezumi. Any information was precious to Sion, who was trying hard to make up for all of his wasted years spent being too naive for his own good.

"If you enjoy watching me strip that much, I could give you a proper show you know?" Nezumi scorned with a smirk, and Sion crawled from his disarrayed thoughts so he became aware of the lithe body he was staring at while it slipped into new clothes. "Like what you see?" Came the teasing voice once more.

Dark hair was gathered and tied with a strand of itself, put in place by commanding fingers, and Sion replied honestly.

"Yes"

Sion's world swiftly went black as Nezumi's nightshirt snapped over his eyes and when it fell to his lap Nezumi was facing him in the doorway, armed with books and with a hand on the open door's handle. "Leave in ten minutes or so." He ordered calmly. "Everyone will be at classes then, and I don't want you getting arrested for being in a minor's room." Nezumi began to close the door but stopped abruptly halfway, and the door yawned open so Nezumi could deliver his final message. "I have something to do later, so don't try to visit me or freak out when I'm not here."

"Ah, Goodb-" The last syllable of Sion's farewell was crushed by a door clicking shut frigidly; slapping away the dim warmth that had been slowly blooming in his cheeks. Sion rested his head that still tingled from the feel of slight fingers sweeping across his skin on Nezumi's sheeted mattress. His arm pulled across his torso so that light fingertips comforted the lasting pain glazing his throat. Those unsparing hands had rattled Sion's nerves at their roots. He had never had something like that done to him for a reason like that, and... and those hands were strong; stronger than he thought such thin fingers could be.

Sion shut his eyes with a knit brow and pressed further into his raw skin, his voice barely escaped from his pulsing throat.

"... ow"

**...**

"What're you here for, you brat?"

"I'm here to discuss something with you. No ulterior motives, no traps, I just want to make something clear."

Nezumi stood five feet from Rikiga; him standing straight and breathing in the dank smells oozing from the man being supported by an alley wall. The sky was painted with clouds, chipping and peeling to let in white light that drew long lines across the dark air. Raindrops flecked their skin and clothing, making Rikiga look even more miserable at being dragged from his business to talk with his ex-bestseller.

"Then hurry it up, I'm losing money here kid."

"Why did you take me that day? Why did you really take me?_"_

RIkiga snorted. "From that look you're giving me I'd say you already know, so just get on to what you really want to talk about."

"No." Nezumi replied easily, "I'm asking because I want to make sure. I told you, I just want to make something clear."

Rikiga stepped forward with an agitated ease that showed how little he had been drinking lately; his patience was wearing thin. "What'll you do boy?" He asked with words that bared long fangs. "What'll you do if I said I had my eye on that little toy of yours?" Rikiga's fat finger pushed Nezumi's jaw upward deridingly. "Will you get mad, scream, yell? You going to try and hurt me 'cause all I see in that white haired kid is a profit, and not whatever made you so inclined to leave with him."

Nezumi sighed longly and vacantly matched Rikiga's stare. "Is your brain too soaked with booze to absorb anything else, Rikiga? I'm here to clear something up, not get my hands dirty over something I could care less about." Nezumi's face was dropped and Rikiga's expression asked if he was serious. "You can do whatever you want with that kid as long as it doesn't involve me. That's why I'm warning you now, that nothing good will come from that weirdo. He's not going to bend to your will and whatever submissive vibe made your nose twitch like that last time you saw him, is wrong. You should've figured that out quick after. He's a moron that only does what he wants, even when that screws over whoever comes in contact with him. And if you traumatize the kid by giving him even a glance of what I've been through, then he'll never shut up about it. So don't bother with him."

Rikiga gave him a subjective glance that didn't want to believe that Nezumi would warn him about something like that. But, the kid's words were true, if Nezumi said there wouldn't be tricks then there wouldn't be. He didn't get what relationship those two had, but it wasn't normal. Nezumi's words were degrading, sure they were, but it almost sounded like a doting parent sneaking in a rave of their kid's assets into a conversation. Like he was bragging about how incredibly burdening the kid he dragged around was. "Pretty proud of your little pet there, huh, Nezumi?"

Nezumi clicked his tongue and looked off with annoyed eyes. "Never. He's even worse than an animal; at least they're obedient. That guy's head is too far up in the clouds to hear a word of what I'm saying." A charcoal gaze found Rikiga once more and his tone turned serious. "And he won't hear you either. So don't waste your breath."

Rikiga grimaced and grunted his understanding. "Whatever. I don't need trouble like that, so you can have him. Just quit coming around here, your fans aren't happy with your absence and if they see you around here then they'll take it out on me. So go on back to that boy's apartment."

"I don't live there anymore" Nezumi informed, already walking away. "So if you need to find me, I won't be there."

Nezumi left without another word and felt satisfied with the way things went. His walk home was wet and spent watching the sky darken and darken despite the excited afternoon traffic filling the streets with cars and umbrellas. His school, on the other hand, looked threatening without the sun greeting the courtyard and students freckling the grounds. Inside, walls reverberated with the sound of rainy day conversations and a turn away from his room those conversations would stop for a moment while Nezumi passed, resuming quietly after. Nezumi didn't care, they had reason to gossip, what with the white haired man sleeping against his door and all.

"Sion" Nezumi called as he stood taunt in front of the body sitting curled against his door.

A light whine was his reply.

**"Sion"**

The kid shushed him.

Nezumi roughly planted his foot next to Sion's white head and spoke calloused words. "Oi, princess. I'm not going to give you a kiss so you have to wake up on your own."

Annoyed red eyes slowly turned up to their waker and they jolted to a rattled enthusiasm that put a boyish color on fresh cheeks. "Hey, Nezumi." He greeted eagerly, leaning up exaggeratedly towards the acidic teen. "I was, just- um..." Sion's words tripped over his tongue in front of Nezumi's rigid stare.

"Visiting me when I told you not to." Nezumi offered.

"Um, well, yes." Sion said absently as he stood, brushing invisible dirt from his lap. "But, it's a Friday, and I just talked to my boss, and she agreed to see you today... if you want to work."

Nezumi inwardly started at the abrupt offer, but calmly nodded his head. "Alright... we're going now?"

"Mhm" Sion replied with a smile, taking a few steps down the hall. "Do you need anything first?"

"No, let's get this over with."

And so, Nezumi walked back out of the building, with even more halted conversations and newly found queer looks coming from the students him and Sion passed. The man beside him, of course, noticed none of this and was simply oozing an easeful aura all the way to the little pet shop a few streets off.

* * *

><p><em>*Muscae volitantes are those little eye floaters.<em>

_Thanks to all of the alerters and favoriteers, you're all very much appreciated. And then the reviewers are all super appreciated so a huge thanks to all of you guys._

_**lollige**__: Thank you, my goal with all of this is to be able to write better than the ten year old that possesses my brain every time I try to write, so it means a lot. And Nezumi wouldn't wouldn't be Nezumi if he wasn't derpishly sarcastic._

_**YukoSama**: Thank you very much, you're adorable by the way... or what you say is. And I'm all good now, so thanks._

_**Muffin-Bunny: **It's understandable to hold off your German homework for... anything. __Ich hasste diese klasse (I think that's right). Thanks for the awesome review._

_Thanks For Reading  
><em>


	13. White Flag

"This is the kid, Sion?"

"Yeah, this is Nezumi. Please, take care of him."

Nezumi felt Sion's hands press warmly into his shoulders and he wrinkled his metaphorical nose at the crude person leaning up to sniff his face. Woman or man... Sion had said she, but Nezumi was none too sure. It hadn't much meaning though. What mattered, was this person's eyes were absorbing every inch of his body and it somewhat grossed him out. He stood firm while being sniffed and ogled at and suddenly felt like an animal in a pet expo, refusing to growl or bite when the judge sticks his hand in their mouth or between their legs. Although, few humans, especially of No.6, would ever try to hold their own against a raging animal.

Nezumi's employer gave one more sniff and a thin face recoiled lightly with a wrinkled expression. She looked up to Sion and shook her long tressed head. "I don't like him Sion. High school kids don't smell like this."

"What, exactly, do I smell like?" Nezumi asked plainly, half out of curiosity, to what a being who smelled like dog itself would be rejecting, and half out of wanting to be obstinate to the person raping him with those tiny black eyes.

"You smell like alcohol and whores." She said with a derogative glance to Nezumi, who felt Sion's fingers curl tightly into his skin.

That spot-on survey had etched the outline for his grave, in which he would do the digging later.

Nezumi refrained from glancing up at Sion, whose fingers were beginning to slide deflated from his shoulders. White hair appeared by his side and it was canopied over a face trying to be calm in spite of its owners raging heart. Flaming eyes hid themselves and Sion's head gave a vague shake before he spoke with resolute words that were carried on a tender animosity towards his boss.

"You should learn to hold your tongue, Inukashi. I may be your employee, but I really won't let it pass if you say anything further." Nezumi saw the storeowner's brow furrow at Sion's unusually composed words and another beady glance was thrown at himself. He was sniffed and mumbled at until the teen sighed inwardly and morphed his face into a warm smile.

"I'm sorry. I should've been aware of my whorish odor before coming to an interview. I'll be sure to smell of a proper teenager from now on if you'll allow me to work here. Next time you sniff me I promise I'll simply reek of pubescence, so please consider me."

Nezumi watched Inukashi piece together his words and overlay them with the sarcasm pulled from their original. She grew red with anger and balled the fist that would've soon been aimed at his face. However, a lean hand jammed his head downward in a strained bow and its owner's voice came in the form of a plea from Nezumi's left.

"Please... Inukashi. I need you to do this for me. He's a good kid but he's caught up with some stuff that I'm too scared to leave him alone with. I want him to work here with me. Forgive him. Nezumi's trustworthy and I'd be grateful if you'd do this one thing for me, Inukashi."

Nezumi's head rolled from beneath Sion's hold and he stood straight, narrowing his eyes at the begging albino. "When did this become about that? You seriously think I have to be with you every second? I mean, what do you really think you're going to be able to do if something _does_ happen?"

"I don't know, Nezumi!" Sion yelled to the tiles under his feet. Taking a deep breath, he repeated himself. "I don't know. That's why I want to be there in case I can help. And if I thought you always needed to be with me then I wouldn't have let you stay at that school, okay?" They exchanged looks that complied to comply and Sion resumed talking to the mutt. "This will really be helping me out, Inukashi. I promise he won't cause as much trouble as I have."

An agreeing mumble came from the thin owner and she threw her arms behind her head; fingers resting on the back of her neck, she spoke. "Whatever, Sion. But, he doesn't touch my dogs and you've gotta keep him on a short leash. Ya hear, Sion? I won't have some vicious pup snappin' at my heels."

Sion stepped forward abruptly, grabbing Inukashi's wrists and bowing his head in such a pitiful manner that Nezumi almost raised it for him. "Thank you." He uttered with a tear-filled tongue. "I'm in your debt, Inukashi."

Inukashi seemed to be fighting between hitting Sion and running away from his heedless touch, but in the end, decided to simply jerk her hands away and sneer at her assailant.

Sion raised his head in surprise and ogled at the girl's disdained eyes when she barked at him. "Damn it, Sion! Quit doing stuff like that and get you and your brat outta here! He'll start up next week, so go home and learn how to thank someone normally."

Sion smiled and nodded his head. "Okay, Inukashi. Thanks again." Nezumi bowed his head in appreciation towards his scruffy employer and turned to leave with Sion.

Nezumi sighed mentally when Sion's fingers started to curl around his own, imagining another battle that would end only when Nezumi won or gave up, but a brief exhale stabbed at his ears and the doting hand pulled away sharply. Nezumi scanned over Sion and was caught in a crimson gaze that teemed with expiation. It whispered _'I'm sorry'_ as the humid outside air rushed in at them through open doors.

The muddled ire that Nezumi felt at the petty action shoveled the first layer of loose dirt off his deathbed.

They walked a few foggy steps when the clunking of heel-clad feet could be heard hurrying from behind them. Nezumi took a step back and turned, inadvertently stepping between a disheveled woman - hair in a loose bun that let dull strands of copper hair fall over her tight dress - and Sion, who had just noticed Nezumi's sudden stop.

The woman grabbed Nezumi's wrist with fingers clad in long red nails and spoke breathlessly. "Eve? Is that you Eve? Where have you been? Why have stopped coming to the playhouse? Will you be coming ba-?"

"My, my" Nezumi muttered softly with a grin, taking the woman's hand. "What an enthusiastic fan I have, hm? I apologize for not being around lately. I miss you all greatly but it seems I'm no longer welcome with Rikiga, so I'll have to ask you to accept my condolences." Nezumi smiled at the woman with a desperate look in her eye. He remembered this woman would come with her two little boys. They'd cry and wail before and after the performance, saving their voice only while the actors were on stage. "I wish you and your sons good luck."

"Oh, Eve! Please, please return soon! That Rikiga was a fool to ever let go an angel like you, Eve!"

Nezumi squeezed her hand and let go, giving a fleeting smile to the woman. "Farewell" Nezumi turned, pressing his fingertips into the dazed Sion's arm tightly and pulling him along the soaked sidewalk. Sion's voice called his name varying times all in different ways until he finally stopped dragging him down the road.

"Nezumi..." Sion panted out, rubbing his arm. "Did... did I do something awful, Nezumi?"

"What do you mean, Sion?" He asked, guiding him to a building wall clear of any pedestrian traffic. "Bad, sure. We've all done some bad things. But, I don't think you've done anything awful, Sion"

"But... but I took you from that woman... from all of your fans. I did something terrible by taki-" Sion's words stopped along with his steps when Nezumi pressed a hand over his mouth.

"Sion, quit that. You've already decided to do this and more than that you've already_ done_ it. They'll be fine. So, unless you're seriously saying that if what you did was bad, you'll let me go, no problem, stop thinking about it." Nezumi lowered his hand and Sion nodded, but that, of course, didn't mean he was finished.

"Nezumi?"

"Hm?"

"Is Eve your real name?" He asked as they started back to Nezumi's school.

"No, Sion. It's a stage name."

"Why?"

"Huh? Sion, these conversations would be a lot less painful if you'd just spit out what you want to say."

"Why did you choose that for your stage name."

This question would end up clearing most of the earth from atop his coffin, opening the lid for him to fall into.

"That's none of your business"

_Liar_

"Oh... okay."

This is another thing Nezumi didn't get about the kid. He asked questions that didn't matter and then soured when he didn't get an answer. It didn't make any sense to get bent out of shape about things that aren't your concern.

_If it's anyone's concern, it's his, no?_

No. It's just a name. It has nothing to do with that moron.

_Or have you just forgotten? It's in there somewhere. I'll help you pull it out__,__ if you need it._

Shut up. You're me, anyway. So quit arguing with yourself and go away. If I don't want to think about it then it must've been needless.

_Less needless and more hindering, I'd say. Of course, you, a person trying so hard to be secluded from people and emotions wouldn't want to ponder the meaning behind the name that binds you to that boy._

Shut up.

_He took you in and asked you to stay. You could've been free. Free from your worry. It was tempting. Yet, something you could easily walk away from. However, there __**was**__ something that had roused your desire. A trivial thing, but it surged in you no less. The long scar trailing down the man's body was something that had nothing to do with you, but interested you greatly. You wondered if you would ever know why it was there, or how far it stretched on that gently sheltered body. _

**Shut up.**

_It was a desire you carried with you to Rikiga's; to your work. Time passed and you understood why normal people did the things they paid you to do. And you could only wonder, 'What would it be like to do it consensually... with the gentle man that sheltered a tempting snake?'. You wondered if you'd ever be chance enough to meet him again. If he would show you the snake that whispered desirable words about its fruit. But, you'd already sinned. You thought about someone who should've been left behind and that was unacceptable. So you kept a reminder. 'Don't fall into temptation' You knew you were Eve. You knew that the only way to resist temptation was to keep away from it fully. So when your temptation came to your side__,__ you couldn't resist-_

"Shut up!" He shouted, scaring the few people sharing his path.

"Nezumi? What's wrong, Nezumi?" Sion called, gripping his wrist tightly and Nezumi almost fell over in the act of pulling away.

"Ah..." Sion uttered with wide eyes, looking to Nezumi shakily. "I-I'm sorry. I won't... touch you anymore, so I-I..." Sion closed his mouth and averted his gaze. "I'm sorry"

Nezumi would've told him to stop thinking about useless things and just do what he wanted, but... not touching was a good idea right now.

**...**

The weekend blew by seamlessly in the way where it seemed like a huge blur of nothing. Nezumi holed himself up in his dorm, paying Sion no heed and subconsciously forgetting the dreams about him. Studying, restudying and sleeping ate up the time he needed to get rid of and before he knew it, it was Monday morning and the dorm adviser was screaming at his door to get up and get to class.

Nezumi managed to make it through half the day, focusing only on school, when one person tipped the scale in every direction besides his own.

"Hey, you! Nezumi, right? Who was that guy waiting for you on Friday?"

"Oh, yeah. That guy was really odd, wasn't he?"

"Totally, but he was kind of cute in a way. Sleeping by his door, you know?"

"Yeah, yeah. But, that white hair was pretty intense, right? Hey, Nezumi, who was he?"

"Who was he?"

_Who was he?_

The topics had gotten worse throughout the day and when 'Who was he?' turned into 'Are you together?' Nezumi had had enough. He managed to skirt around them all, but that first query had somehow omitted a signal to anyone interested in Sion, because the questions didn't halt until he rammed himself back into his room. The teen hadn't been spoken to this much since the first few days after crawling into Sion's home that stormy night and his mind was fried. He barely trusted himself enough to do whatever mountain of homework he had been given when he wasn't paying attention and he was sure he wouldn't be able to deal with the idiot knocking at his door.

Behind the door was Sion, looking equally exhausted, with a black schoolbag hoisted on his shoulders. The man took a tired breath and spoke dejectedly. "I need a quiet place to work. My apartment's leaking, Safu's with her grandmother, and the library is closed. Please, let me in." Nezumi took a closer look at his visitor and saw anxious gestures that verified his futile search for a workplace. That, paired with Sion's words being short, sweet, and to the point, made Nezumi let out a breath and open the door for his shadow of trouble, walking back to his bed adorned with open textbooks and annoying worksheets.

"You can take the desk. I won't disturb you."

"Thank you"

A chair clunked dully on the thin carpet as Sion pulled it out, simultaneously swinging his bag forward and sitting on the wooden seat. Nezumi watched his back as it stretched, preparing for unhindered lengths of working on whatever the student was scribbling at feverishly. Nezumi turned back to his own books and flipped through the pages, trying to remember what they had done that day and how much work he'd need to do to know how to do it; but every thought about school led to the students that talked about the man in his room, who was closer than he should ever be and that made Nezumi want to hide in a hole. Forever away from civilization and the worries that embellished it.

He was tired of this. Tired of skirting around Sion even though something deep, _deep _down was screaming at him to simply give up, tear down his pristine walls, and deal with whatever destruction the white-haired moron would do when it happened. He just wanted to leave; go somewhere far away where Sion wouldn't be able to reach him. He needed a tower. They weren't Romeo and Juliet, but he needed a tower to keep away from the obstinate fool. Even if his life ended tragically, his sense of self would still remain if he refused to let Sion in. Even though... even though his sense of self seemed to be blurring and distorting more with every second spent near Sion's oblivious being.

His senses were being flooded with a person that went against so much of what he'd thought fact.

_No one would go out of their way to help someone, unless they expected something in return. Everyone of No.6 is too fickle to open their eyes to the world. All of them are dull people led by the status quo, tamed into being satisfied with their monotonous lifestyle. None would dare try and open their arms to the world, accepting whatever came their way._

Sion had helped him, with no thoughts of retribution. He had opened his eyes and more; he had been trying to all along, but was never given a starting line. Sion was led by the status quo, but was in no means tame. He had opened his arms. Sion had accepted him and his world. And... and he was a fool for doing all of that. Everything would've been so much easier if he hadn't stuck his neck into a hole that should've been much too small. It wasn't normal to be so different and it both awed Nezumi and terrified him. This person was far too different and couldn't be measured by normal means of 'odd' or 'kindhearted'.

Sion would love and vouch for anything as long as he had a reason. Even if it was only that they were composed of the same flesh, the same bones, or born on the same Earth. Yet, he was not against hatred or animosity if someone acted sinfully enough; especially if they affected the ones he loved unconditionally. It was mind-blowing. Nezumi couldn't understand how someone so unknowing could house such fiery, intense emotions that were increasingly quick to draw. Nezumi didn't understand, and he didn't need to. But, he wanted to. He wanted to understand why this person was so different and how, exactly, he'd ended up so tangled in the abnormal web he weaved.

Nezumi squeezed his eyes shut and tried to shake away his thoughts that were absorbed in Sion. He closed his textbooks, shoved his unmarked homework into a folder, and flopped down on his bed, covering eyes that faced the ceiling with the inside of his elbow. He would just do nothing until Sion left, and then he'd have the rest of the week to calm down before he had to see him again. He could do that. Easy.

Nezumi let out a sigh that he was too tired to hold in and felt Sion's eyes turn on him.

"Are you all right, Nezumi? Do you need any help?"

This guy was seriously out to get him.

"I'm fine, idiot. Go on with your college business"

"I have time, if you need help with anything."

Nezumi really hated this airhead.

"Finish your work. If you still want to, you can help me after.

But, that airhead was providing him with this education. So, he had to do well.

"Alright"

And that's how it went. Sion spent a late afternoon in his room, doing whatever college students did, and when he was all done Nezumi steeled himself to work beside the moron. They both started by staring thoughtfully at his small room, wondering how they were going to work organized, side-by-side, without having to breath in the other's air. Books were splayed on the floor, in order from_ 'I don't remember what I'm supposed to do'_ to_ 'I didn't even know that subject existed' and_ they laid side-by-side, trying to match up worksheets to chapters and chapters to topics.

Pages ripped, pencils broke, paper cut, and tensions were high. Nezumi was trying not to look stupid, while explaining how he had never heard of 'linear functions' or 'box and whisker plots', which sounded like a kindergartener's pass time, even though Sion would never blame him for not knowing what he wasn't taught.

Sion would laugh when Nezumi flustered over a tricky problem and scold him when he would skip steps or look in the back of the book for answers. Then, when the student would finally learn the dumb subject, Sion would drag over the next book with such a happily sadistic look that Nezumi really just wanted to kick him hard in the teeth. However, not surprisingly, Sion was a good teacher and Nezumi would likely remember all of this for years to come the way it was being slammed into his brain. It got his mind off of the Sion of the past, or even future, and focused on the Sion now; the one laughing beside him while he fumbled over things he already knew, just to stay there unperturbed for even a second longer.

Nezumi laid his head on his arms, yawning as he wrote the last letters of the last word on his last assignment and felt Sion's warmth pull from his side as the man sat up with a grunt.

"Good job. You're a worthy pupil." Sion praised, collecting Nezumi's book with a subtle smile.

"I had a good teacher." Nezumi replied, flipping on his back to watch Sion stand and begin to gather his own things.

"Did you?"

"Yeah. Good at explaining, patient, stern, but not too. Oh, but wait." Nezumi proclaimed raising a finger as he sat up fluidly. "I seem to remember something about him laughing at his student... I don't know how regulation that is, but I can't recall there being a teaching style that involved demeaning your students." Nezumi uttered casually, standing and stretching next to the neat pile of his books.

"Really?" Sion questioned, zipping his schoolbag. "It's quite a common practice. It's used regularly with smart-mouthed brats. You know, the ungrateful ones that don't even _thank_ the teacher that went to such lengths to act according and belittle his smart student."

If Nezumi had a white flag... he'd raise it. Sion's comebacks were evolving and now Nezumi even had to think about them slightly to understand some of the muddled jabs. He didn't even have the right to rebut, because Sion was right. Yet...

"I can't tell if you're trying to get me to apologize or hit you, Sion."

"Well... you can do what you want, Nezumi." Sion explained with a smile.

_Can I, really? Can I truly do what I want?_

Sion stepped to him and spoke clearly. "Thank you for letting me work here. Sorry if I caused any trouble."

"You didn't" Nezumi replied promptly. "For once."

Sion chuckled and nodded. A warm hand, calloused from writing, pushed back Nezumi's fringe and Sion gave his forehead a soft peck. "I'll see you." He said gently as he turned.

Sion let out a small yelp when Nezumi grabbed his wrist and pulled lightly, so he was angled toward the dark haired teen. "You can't do that." Nezumi stated coldly and Sion's eyes opened further.

"I'm sorry... You're right, I said I wouldn't touch you... I-"

"It's not about touching idiot. I was just pressed next to you for hours; I don't care if you touch me. Just don't do that."

"Wha- You mean kiss you?" Sion asked as if kissing Nezumi would grant world peace.

"Yes. Don't do that anymore."

"Why? If I can touch you than why not kiss you?"

"Because, idiot, it's different." Nezumi paused, releasing Sion's wrist. "And I'll get greedy" He said faintly, looking just to the side of Sion.

"You can be greedy." Sion assured. "If you're not greedy then I won't know what you want, or how to help you. So, you can... be... greedy..." Sion's confident response melted into something very different as Nezumi pushed him slowly to the wall and the hand pressed to Sion's chest migrated sideways so Nezumi's fist and forearm rested sternly on the wall.

He was climbing into his casket and closing the lid, on his own accord.

Nezumi shifted forward so their noses lay side-by-side and narrowed his gaze at the eyes burning calmly into him.

_"Screw you"_ Nezumi whispered against the lips he opened with his own.

* * *

><p><em>Oh, damn.<em>

_**Muffin-Bunny**: I'm glad you liked it and I congratulate you on your independence from that brainblending subject.  
><em>

_**xTsuBomb**: Thanks a lot. I'm pumped that you look forward to it._

_Thanks For Reading_


	14. Bizarre Hunt

Cruel.

Such a painful action.

A torrid tongue slid sinfully between his lips. It hunted; inspecting flesh for spots that made its pray rustle and buck, revealing to the hunter just what was tangled in his hateful net. Teeth grazed and bit, playing with the helpless animal before devouring it completely. The beast's whines and cries were hindered by the muzzle weaved tightly with threads of desire and fear and the animal felt its will lessening with each flick of that explicitly barbed tongue.

How unkind. How unfeeling. How _unfair._

Sion felt the lips caging his desire press hotly into his neck and the new position slowly untangled him from the trap he hadn't the confidence to break out of. If he stopped to talk now, they might never start up again, but he wouldn't let himself be treated so inhumanely.

"Nezumi..." Sion breathed, raising his hand and gently slapping the boy's face. "Why are you doing this?"

Nezumi had said not to kiss him. He had said that, only moments before. And now... now Nezumi was doing this so hotly; so unbearably and he was already told not to do it back. It was a callous gesture that had Sion's mind in wreckage as it fought; battling over giving in and doing something that could be hurtful to Nezumi and himself or backing away and risking the loss of the delectable thrill this bizarre hunt shot through him.

Nezumi mumbled words against his neck; gentle to the point where Sion almost didn't believe the twinge of pain they delivered. "Because, I hate you." Sion's fingers dug into the plaster wall and he bit his lip hard. This was... Nezumi was never a saint and he never needed to be, but this was utterly demonic. Nezumi raised his head and Sion was _really_ ready to hit him; he was _so_ ready to pummel that harsh mouth of his. Then, he spoke... and things changed "I can't stand you... and you disgust me. You're a bleeding heart that ends up hurting everyone you try to help and you made me want an idiot that loved me for no reason. You made me want you, so you have to take responsibility. That is my greed."

Sion swallowed and asked steadily as Nezumi's arm rounded his shoulders. "Then, I can kiss you?"

Nezumi smirked and pulled closer. "Asking permission? How unsexy of you."

"You said I shouldn't, Nezumi." Sion informed, feeling like a child being baited to behave with his favorite food. His vocal chords were begging to whine and show Nezumi he was being unfair, but he had pride. And he was the adult here.

"When'd you get so obedient, hm?" Nezumi said with a knowing smirk and Sion could tell he was enjoying his revenge for when the younger had a semester's worth of knowledge pounded into his brain.

"Nezumi..." Sion's plea was just on this side of pathetic and he knew it. But, Nezumi was cheating. He was cheating so much and it wasn't fair. Sion was slowly turning more and more into a child in front of the thing he wanted most and Nezumi was just rolling in that satisfaction. Sion could tell. The teasing teen was so happy with himself that he could make the adult kick and scream to get his favorite toy. God, though... Sion wanted it. He hadn't known until it was so close in reach; until he could taste that delectably savory taste of having more and more of your most important person. Sion wanted Nezumi in the most extreme ways and he'd go to the biggest extremes to get him.

Sion was almost too absorbed in his thoughts to notice the subject of them pulling away to look at him comfortably and was too dazed to immediately respond to the news he was begging to hear.

"You can do what you want, Sion."

Sion blinked. Thought. And gasped, "Oh, thank god", trading necessity for necessity as he released air and captured Nezumi. Leaning down into a kiss that Nezumi bent backward to perform; the teen only left standing due to the hands cradling his head and waist. Sion's initial hurry leaked out and he slowly stood upright, breaking off and taking in precious air that he'd spared for the boy still smirking at him.

"I'm relieved" Nezumi stated casually, pausing to suck a simple kiss from Sion. "You weren't doing anything before... and I was afraid I was going to have to train you. But, I can work with that."

"Yeah, well..." Sion mumbled, finding it hard to wrap his mind around the conversation going on, much less the positions they were in and how hard it made his heart beat. Their legs stood in between each other's so their pants made a striped pattern and more than their hips being simply pressed together, Sion was aiding them by pulling at the small of Nezumi's back with his hands that were riding up a button-down school shirt. Nezumi's arms wrapped around the neck that was leaning back slightly in order to keep Sion's face a few inches from Nezumi's.

_'This is bad'_ was his first congenial thought.

Not that he didn't want this... _so_ much. But, he'd never really done this and Nezumi had no idea what a relationship was like and Sion wasn't even sure if that was what Nezumi wanted... or if it was what he wanted for Nezumi. This was the boy's chance to have a normal life and if Sion ruined that by confusing him or hurting him then he wouldn't know what to do.

"What do _you_ think this is?"

Nezumi's question surprised Sion, what with the context implying that he had just read his mind, but Sion decided that it was really his heart that he was reading. Maybe that answer was influenced by the thundering noise his heartbeat was probably omitting with the way it shook his entire body, but either way, that question was a good one.

"I... think this," Sion rattled his brain for the right decision. He had a feeling that Nezumi wasn't simply asking out of curiosity. So, he would answer logically and honestly... no matter how much it hurt to say. "is you being a teenager that has a lot of emotions and hormones. And I think that you're clinging to _me_, because you're used to doing these things so often with disconnected people. So you miss the action and you're curious of what it would be like to do it with someone different."

Nezumi's face stayed calm and he asked again. "What do you _want_ this to be?"

Sion didn't need to think about that and neither did Nezumi. "You should be able to figure that out." He grumbled, laying his head on Nezumi's lean shoulders. If Sion didn't want this to be a lot more than Nezumi acting on teenage impulses, he wouldn't still have his hands up his back; clinging to the person that showed him how to feel these desperate emotions. "Nezumi, I... I love you and I really don't want you to be hurt. So, _please_ tell me what you're expecting out of this."

Sion heard the distinctive sound of Nezumi's tongue against his teeth and he jumped a bit when his hair went taught and lifted his head upward. Sion connected with the grey eyes he had been avoiding in case the simple sight of them ripped the control from his being and he dismissed trying to be responsible. However, they acted as always and steeled Sion, making him sure that he could handle whatever Nezumi said.

"I want to try this." Nezumi said faintly and it was probably the first time Sion had ever seen him looking embarrassed. Even if the emotion was only a thin veil, Sion knew that it wasn't something to take lightly. Nezumi was trying to be open. "I may have hormones, or whatever, and you _are_ the weirdest person I have ever met, Sion. But, being with you... and talking like this, is fine. Being with you when we're studying is fine. Being with you when you're being your annoying self, is fine. And, that's all fine... but I want more than that. So... I want to try being with you, but doing stuff like this. That'll be more than fine."

Sion smiled and tried, _really hard_, not to laugh. He wasn't trying to be insensitive, but Nezumi talking like that was the equivalent of a normal person blushing scarlet and stuttering out incomprehensible mumblings. Plus, he could easily laugh from glee if he understood what the teen was trying to get across.

"So~ what would you call that, Nezumi? I don't quite understand." Sion asked casually, lowering his head with a smile to look at Nezumi, who was obviously trying to retract into himself through sheer willpower. Oh, god, though... Sion loved when it became obvious that Nezumi was younger. The boy acted too mature for his own good and Sion decided he'd give the kid's feathers a long over-due ruffling.

Sion felt Nezumi's fingertips dig lightly into his neck in what he presumed to be a small retribution for exploiting his moment of turmoil and the fuming teen spoke humbly frustrated words. "Damn it, Sion... we'dbelikeacouple" Nezumi dug further into his neck when Sion accidentally snorted at his flustered mumble, but he pulled it together enough to make Nezumi _really_ want to hurt him.

"A couple of what?" Sion asked quickly, laughing timidly when he was pressed hard into the wall and a grey glare, that would set a lesser man on fire, gouged into him.

"You'll need a couple of stitches, if you don't shut up, Sion." Nezumi growled.

He would risk it.

Sion spoke with his satisfaction towards this whole situation simply dripping from every word as he leaned closer and closer to Nezumi, until their foreheads pressed together even with Nezumi leaning backward. "I just want to know if I should call you my _boyfriend~_ or maybe my _lover_ or _sweetheart._ I kind of like _beloved,_ really." Sion watched Nezumi switch from embarrassed, to nonplussed and he wasn't sure what had just happened. Nezumi looked to him calmly and sighed.

"It kind of scares me that there's a possibility you're _not_ kidding and you're really just _that_ much of an airhead."

Sion stared at Nezumi for a few surprised moments, before a small laugh from the teen erupted his already bubbling insides and made laughter fill the room from both boys. Sion opened his eyes and they widened when he realized something that made his heart jump and his mouth move faster than his brain when he pressed his lips to Nezumi's.

Sion pulled away and Nezumi looked at him with only a small trace of the smile left on his face. "What was that for?"

"Uh... that was the first time I've seen you smile... and I guess I couldn't help myself."

"I've smiled before." Nezumi corrected sternly.

"Not... like that." They had all been smirks or sneers and the warm smiles were always fake and felt something like when you see a beautiful animal on television or in a magazine. You marvel in its grace, but still yearn to see the animal authentically. Sion got the feeling he was seeing Nezumi authentically for the first time and he wouldn't be able to tell you how amazing it was. "Nezumi... I..." _Oh, no_. Sion thought as he felt tears sting his eyes. He was trying to be the adult, he really was. But that image was continually slipping between his fingers, making it clear to both of them that, all in all, there was no adult or child. There was no better or worse... there were only two individuals that somehow contrasted and complimented the other just enough that they couldn't stay by each other's side without being completely engrossed in their enchantingly alien actions.

"Hey, hey, Sion!" Nezumi half-shouted, panicking slightly when the man began to cry. "Why do you always cry at nothing? ... Geez"

Sion felt Nezumi's cold fingers gently brush away his tears. The digits trailed through his hair and rounded up just enough of his composure to speak. "I just love you so much, Nezumi." He uttered sloppily. "I'm so happy that I just..._ I love you_."

Sion got the expected response when Nezumi sighed. "You're such a doting old man." He said tiredly, lazily looping his arms around Sion's waist. "Save that for when you actually know what that word means."

"I know what it means, Nezumi" The teen had done this to him before and the more Sion thought about it the more he was sure that excuse was bull. Even if he didn't know the definition, words like 'love' weren't something that could be defined so easily and it varied from person to person. Sion's love could be different from Nezumi's, but that in no way meant it wasn't love.

"Sion, you don't unde-" Nezumi was cut off by a bad tempered, bruise-inducing kiss.

Sion parted from Nezumi and pressed their heads together harshly. "If I didn't... completely _adore_ you... I wouldn't be here doing these things. Accept it, Nezumi... I love you."

Their eyes took their time boring into each other and Nezumi let out a tired breath. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever pleases your fancy, young master." Nezumi muttered offhandedly and Sion drew in a breath when the mumbling lips grazed his clavicle, clearing the fog from Sion's subconscious wonders of whether Nezumi was still willing even after being stopped to answer the ugly questions of an insecure man.

"Mm... Nezumi." Sion grumbled to the teen steadily dragging his cotton shirt further off his shoulder to allow teeth and tongue further domain. Sion didn't know how it worked at Nezumi's old province - and he really didn't want to think about it - but the kid was really good doing this unfairly. Sion was caught between stopping the boy so he could bite back and simply sitting back and letting Nezumi go. But that would be, in a sense, unfair as well. Therefore, Sion pressed further up Nezumi's back; straightening the boy so he pulled from his neck and the dark haired half of the affection leaned in fluidly, mumbling "sorry" before joining in Sion's requested kiss.

The original hunt had changed. The hunter had lost his traps and weapons and knew if the animal acted fiercely enough then it would be the victor. He could only rely on knowing what made the beast flutter; what made it quake. Both bestial and hominal being were rounding each other, seeing how close they could get without being pounced upon; without scaring the other away. The hunter tempted the animal with its practiced movements that allowed him to move precisely and delicately; neither breaking the skin of leaves nor scratching the ground's surface. The animal taunted the hunter with its natural strut that instinctually steered it through the forest; dense with roots and thickets of trees that should've tripped and slowed it in its blind search for a means to capture the hunter in its gentle jaw.

Yes, a tactful hunt in appearance. Though, only the players in this deadly game knew the reality behind the steady chase. The showing of claws or flaunting of experience only attempted to chip at the others will. It had become an unspoken oath that the real winner was neither the better nor the most fervent. You would only triumph when you were the one to better the other; when the other became fervent because he couldn't take it any longer. When they couldn't bear not to sink their fangs into the other's contrary flesh or to trap completely that prized beast in his greedy hands.

Sion could only follow Nezumi's guide when the teen began to step backward slowly, but when the boy began to fall away, Sion gasped out of their affection and pulled him closer. "Nezumi? ... What's wrong?" Sion queried between breaths and grey eyes rolled to the ceiling. Nezumi's head jerked back slightly and Sion looked lower to the bed, in which, he was gesturing. The man knew it was a bit foolish to be embarrassed _now_ of all times, but he couldn't help the heat that rushed to his face.

"Wait, Nezumi..." Sion ordered half-heartedly; his being tearing at its seams from the adjacent pull of his body's desire and mind's fear. "G-go easy on me. I've never done this before."

"Well you can do it now." Nezumi offered powerfully.

"No, Nezumi... um-" Sion mumbled, leaning back to drive his arms between them and press his hands to Nezumi's chest. "I... um... Slower." Sion said definitively. "Go slower. I don't... want this to be like your other times. Um... I don't want to just screw you and leave."

"It _will_ be different. Because, you won't leave."

_Damn... this kid was good. _

"Yeah... well... I'm not ready for this, okay, Nezumi? I don't even think I'm ready for what we already did... so you'll need to give me some time... please."

Sion looked pleadingly to Nezumi. Not as if he wouldn't be able to reject him if it came to that, but Sion didn't want to have to do that. These decisions should be consensual.

Nezumi's grip on his shoulders loosened and he leaned up on the balls of his feet to press a warm kiss to Sion's forehead. "Of course, your majesty." He uttered softly and Sion almost felt a tiny..._ itty-bitty_, pang of regret. It's just... Nezumi was the kind of kid where, if he tried, he could have anyone that came his way. I mean... he already kind of had. Nezumi could choose a nice girl in his grade that would be able to match his pace. Yet, he was here... accommodating Sion's - a slow, old man's - naive requests. It was the sweetest thing and Nezumi would, most definitely, never admit that it was anything of esteem. "It's getting late, anyway. So, go on home like a good little lamb." Nezumi's arms pulled from his shoulders and one simple step backward disconnected them completely.

Sion almost had a panic attack.

Even though he could still feel Nezumi's lingering warmth and see signs of his wake on Nezumi's body, Sion felt an awful sense of fear and loss, as if nothing had happened and everything was the same as ever. It was maddening and the feeling must have been bursting out of him, because Nezumi sighed and took his hand. "You should get some confidence in you." Nezumi said, guiding a pale palm to his mouth and Sion flinched when he bit into it. Nezumi pulled Sion's hand away and angled it so its owner could see a bleeding bite mark. "There. Now you have proof."

Sion watched blood leak slowly from the infliction and he brought it to his mouth. A metallic taste coated his tongue as he sucked on the wound, nodding at Nezumi's words. When he pulled his skin away Sion asked warily. "What about when it heals?"

"I'll bite you again... and again. Until you can leave without me giving you a scar" Nezumi affirmed tiredly and Sion laughed, in part because of the mere context of their words, but he couldn't help but think that Nezumi was, in a way, comforting him. Saying that time would pass, things would change, but he'd still be there. It was an odd assurance, but one all the same. And Sion would treasure it.

* * *

><p><em>Yup.<em>

_Thank you my lovely reviewers, including** MyNameIsSara **and **MisuzuIta. **You have all my lavs._

**_Muffin Bunny_**_: lol XD. Yeah though, you can't appose the fangirls, cause they **will** find a way to hurt you. And there is nothing wrong with cookies._

_**Aislinn Flynn**: Yeah, I'm a mover and shaker when I read fanfiction too. If it's a story where angst or adorableness is expected, I need a secluded place to read it. XD _

_**Tsukiyo**: lol... ok, sorry for laughing at your slow death. I hope this resuscitated you._

_**lolligje**: XD and sorry about your computer. Is it weird that I read Nezumi's 'I shall be greedy then' in like a reaallly deep old man's voice? I can't shake the feeling that it is._

_Thanks For Reading.  
><em>


	15. Top Faggot

_The title should give you an idea that this chapter is a tad racy. It's not intended to be offending._

* * *

><p>"Hey, Nezumi~? Why'd that guy come out of your room so late?"<p>

Adults were bastards.

"He was all dazed when he came out. Then he stopped a bit after and bent down. We went to talk to him and his face was all red~. So... we were just wondering..."

But, teenagers were just annoying.

Nezumi was not in the mood for this. Not because his mood was a bad one, but because he was finally - like, a month later, finally - feeling okay with his decision to come with Sion. At least now he had something to tell himself when the pangs of regret hit him._ 'It's a simple attraction. I'm interested in Sion and Sion just happens to be interested in me as well. So, why not stay by the guy's side? No harm done.' _Nezumi wouldn't have to do anymore of that cowardly skirting he hated so much and there still didn't have to be any chaining attachment. It would be a perfect solution, had it not brought up so many problems the second he thought about anyone other than him and his moron. Classmates would freak. Authorities would freak. Sion's friends and family... Nezumi wasn't sure. That Safu girl might kick up some dust and Nezumi didn't care enough about Sion's family to ask about them, so it was only a blind guess that they might not take too well to their naive little lamb dati - no, Nezumi still wasn't comfortable with that word - _associating_ with a teenage whore.

It was, all in all, a bad idea.

... but, Nezumi really couldn't bring himself to care. The situation worked well for him. Sion was probably freaking out somewhere right now about it. But, would, most certainly, be at his door sometime this week with an overly happy face, colored in an unsure red. Nezumi would let him in 'reluctantly' and Sion would be his oblivious self and not get Nezumi's passes until he actually attacked the man. A fun afternoon. _See, there_._ '_Fun'. Nezumi was in such a mood where so-called 'fun' things kept entering his mind. 'Fun' wasn't a word he used often. Not that he hadn't experienced exciting, intense, gripping or interesting... but a carefree word like '_fun'_? Never. There was no time for 'fun'. There were too many problems for 'fun'. That's the way it had been.

Although, it seemed that, schools encouraged the same deprivation of that breezy adjective, because these dumb brats were shooting him down.

"That guy's my guardian and a weirdo, so don't jump to asinine conclusions. I'm just a trashy brat and he's an elite; we're not exactly fond of each other." The words splayed across the desk Nezumi's head laid upon. They were changing classes and this was, apparently, a great time to gossip about things that were none of your business... ever. Nezumi didn't understand what they stood to gain by knowing Nezumi sexually assaulted an albino college student. It was absurd. The only outcomes he could think of were ones that had already happened when conclusions were jumped to. One, they'd giggle and blush. Two, they'd ask him annoying questions. Three, they'd call him a faggot. Four, a mixture of two and one, or two and three.

"Hey, stay away from him. You'll catch his gay."

_Yes, yes. You're all very clever. Turning something you don't understand into a disease and pushing it away. I'm not gay, but you are a douche bag. _

"Hey! That's not nice. It's his choice to be gay, so let him do it."

_Ah, the 'savior'. Standing up for me and then calling me the same. Well done. Oh, then adding that it was my choice. Really? Because, I don't remember choosing Sion. I doubt I'd do it if I had the option. But, I suppose you're too concerned with standing up for me, like I'm too 'gay' to do it myself, to check your facts; I'll let it slide._

"Hey, faggot."

_Oh, now I'm just 'faggot'. Not even 'a faggot'. I guess I'm the top faggot then. I'll wear the title proudly._

"Quit bringing your fucktoy here. No one wants to see you or what you're nailing. If you want to fuck somebody, why don't you try a girl for once and not gross us out."

_Now, now... teasing me so. Rubbing it in my face that Sion wouldn't do me? I'm not nailing him. He's not a toy. And if he were, it wouldn't be of the 'fuck' variety. I've also done quite a bit more than 'try' a girl. I've 'tried' a ton. I've also served, indulged and, dare I say, satisfied more women than you will in your entire 'straight' life. Plus... if Sion grosses you out... then you really are just a pansy when it comes to anything different._

"Why won't you say anything, faggot? Too busy sucking dicks to even look at me, huh?"

Nezumi wrinkled his brow against the cool wood of his desk, lifting his head just enough to see the collar-popped, skin-tanned, shade wearing, grade-A douche bag who'd been speaking the whole time. He had planned on telling him how laughable he was being... but Nezumi wasted enough breath talking to Sion. The teen's head retracted, confounded with how a person could be so moronic, and laid back down. That, apparently, did not fly with Captain Douche, because Nezumi heard an aggressive hand slam onto the desk beside him. The class became quiet and a stillness in the air whispered that breaths were being held. Too bad for them, Nezumi _really _didn't feel like putting on a show right now. The teen sighed, hoping to get this over with quickly, and sat up straight. An unpleased head rolled lazily to the left, grey eyes connecting with the prick that probably would catch gay, if it were possible, with how close he was.

Nezumi had a tough choice. Go for the kill... or go for the dramatics... The kill would be easy; the dramatics would be fun. Nezumi had a stage, an audience, and a perfect set. Yeah, maybe he did want to put on a show; he did miss it, after all.

"You got something to say, faggot?"

The dramatics it is.

"Yes. What makes me gay?" Nezumi asked fluidly, a lewd air mixing with his pure breath. An elegant finger pressed into falsely tanned skin, lifting the opponent's chin only slightly and his questions fell in accusing shards. "Have you seen me with a man? Do you know I've never been with a woman? Have you, yourself, even experienced anything past the grazing of skin? What would you do, truly, if someone like me, did something like this?" Nezumi's position fell ever so slightly and the space between the two opposers became miniscule. Nezumi leaned in for a stage kiss. A high school stage kiss, in particular. Nezumi was in character; he was a high schooler that performed in plays that mastered in the art of kissing without touching lips. Although... they, most likely, wouldn't have done what Nezumi did, either.

He kept his eyes on the prick that already leaned in a threatening amount since their starting positions and slid his finger down a place eyes were focused too far up to notice. Oh, but Captain Douche noticed. As did the place Nezumi grazed.

A chair clamored back stupidly when Captain Douche tried to gain support. Tan skin bloomed red and Nezumi watched an embarrassed face curdle before guiding its body clumsily out of the room and surely off to privacy.

**...**

"Sion... what _are_ those?"

"What do you mean, Safu?"

"Y-your neck... are those scratches?"

Sion froze and slapped a hand sharply to the back of his neck. They were in line at the cafeteria and Safu proved to be in perfect sight of the aftermath of Sion's flippant teasing and Nezumi's eager nails. The student mentally scolded himself for missing those particular wounds during the morning actually spent _checking _for any visible ones. He figured thin-skinned wasn't merely an expression; his collar flooded with light marks and the man spent most his morning hiding the pesky bruises and blemishes that vaguely swelled his mouth.

"Oh... those. I was frustrated over my work yesterday and I hadn't noticed that I was sort of taking it out on myself."

Sion spoke with a laugh in his voice and a timid finger picking at his cheek. Yes, he was an awful liar. Yes, Safu would be able to tell he was lying. No, he would not tell her he had become a pedophile. He loved Nezumi, clearly. He didn't care that he was a few years younger, duh. Other people would _definitely_ care; Nezumi said so. That with the fact that Safu didn't seem all too fond of Nezumi in the first place, led Sion to the corner the girl began charging.

"You're lying, Sion"

"I know" No use hiding when you're already unveiled.

"What happened?"

"Secret"

Sion looked back to Safu with a smart smile and ignored her grouchy glare. Sion might've roused up enough courage to entrust Safu with his sneaky bit of information, however, he didn't yet have a good grasp on it himself. If Sion couldn't handle the information then he wouldn't let someone else take the burden as well. Now, of course, Sion would be most affected by the news, it being about him, as it were. But, if the ones told became half as flustered as he was, he'd feel guilty. A minute after leaving Nezumi's room, the man had to stop walking in case he fainted from the heat engulfing his face. Sion hadn't really thought much about what he had done while it was happening, so that left afterward for those fervid thoughts. And fervid they were.

Sion had never... _thought_ about those kind of things much less done them willingly. A naive mind rarely drifted that way and Sion firmly believed that the idea of 'physical attraction leading to love' being completely off... in a way. At least... not sexual attraction. Sion loved Nezumi's personality before he'd even been introduced to that option. Though, he fell in love with those eyes before either spoke a single word. They captured him. Those eyes dragged him after Nezumi's figure and once Sion gained the slightest whiff of his hidden heart all bets were off. He became hooked. Nezumi was like a drug. A drug with the most towering highs and the gnarliest lows. When Sion was breathing the same air as him his heart beat hard in anticipation for what he might experience next and how differing it will be from anything already crossed. Smiles lasted and thoughts battled to please with the distant goal of seeing Nezumi completely. The times when he couldn't sense Nezumi at all were heart stopping. Time was spent languidly looking for grey... any grey to sate his yearn. The only way to keep from breaking down completely was to be injected with the acrid elixir that was Nezumi. Sion was stuck with a harsh needle; constructed from biting words, rusted with blatant insults and disinfected with cheap stabs at his overly sensitive heart-strings. The pain was cruel, but Sion thrived off of the narcotics that spilled into his system with a sinful pleasure. Nezumi was the harshest, most addicting drug. And Sion wanted him all to himself.

"Sion... did Nezumi do those?" Safu asked as they rounded up a nice corner table to eat their lunch.

"Why would you think that, Safu?" He asked, honestly curious at why on earth she would come to such an accurate conclusion.

"Well... you were just thinking about him."

Great. Now he had to worry about Safu reading his mind as well.

"How did you know that?"

"You were looking for him." She answered surely. "Even if he's not anywhere near, your eyes fallow the shadows like he'll appear any second. And it's always right before or after you talk about him. So, unless you're about to tell me something about what you did with him, your 'secret' is about Nezumi."

"Is that so..." Sion mumbled as he bit into something on his platter. The man had never noticed such a give away, but that could be because it was given away during thoughts about Nezumi... who easily engulfed all of himself at any given time. So... Sion would only have to tell Safu the truth, without telling her that he had become a felon. "Nezumi did make the marks. I went a bit too far when I was taunting him and he got angry. I'm a bit embarrassed about the whole thing so I didn't want to talk about it so freely." Yeah, a bit understated, perhaps, but the truth all the same.

Safu's unsure gaze grazed his skin and the girl turned down to eat her food with a sigh. "You shouldn't let him do stuff like that to you, Sion."

"I know... but I can't help myself."

"Help yourself... with what?"

"Spoiling him" The unspoken 'and myself' went thankfully unheard by Safu's deft ears.

**...**

Nezumi was tired. **So **damn tired.

This is how his week was going so far, just to give you an idea of how **fuck, damn** tired he was.

Monday welcomed Sion, Sion, and more Sion in the areas of school, room, and mind; leaving Nezumi to grouse in his bedroom about the man until the wee hours of the morning. Tuesday, the teen was adorned with the title 'faggot' and thus been called to the principal's office to speak about this 'problem'. He had been told not to bring Sion here past dinnertime, a very pragmatic six o'clock, and to not spread such half-baked rumors. Then was given an extra curricular and sexual education pamphlet so he could 'spend his time with more appropriate companions' and 'not do anything he'll regret.' Wednesday, Nezumi had become, self-proclaimed, Dr. Faggot. The villain causing a reign of terror, in which, Captain Douche was trying to befall, along with his cronies - a few of Douche's bags that followed him around and wore the same clothes. Some fists flew, but Nezumi dissolved the row quickly enough with a few swift moves. Later, he flipped through the pamphlet he was given and looked for the one thing that might give him some refuge. So yes, he joined the drama club, in the flesh of the semester, due to some minor encouragement from the principle. That went past dinner and then homework with the added assignment of memorizing some minor lines ate up his late afternoon and midnight. Today was a day that started early. A neighbor's dumb alarm clock went off prematurely, at a refreshing three am. Nezumi talked a bit with Captain Douche, while the guy tried to stay away and avoid the risk of another hand cramp. And finally, Nezumi left his new club, which had proved to be filled with decent people and an alright experience, and headed back to his room feeling, yes, _tired._

And, more than that, he hadn't seen Sion the whole week. Which, normally, would've been a good thing. However, after hearing so many things about himself being a queer and listening to people who knew absolutely _nothing_ about Sion calling him the same, and sometimes much worse, made Nezumi want to refresh his memory on how... refreshing Sion could be. Yes, he needed a refreshment after this disgustingly salty week.

However, he instead got a mouthful of vile when turning a corner almost connected him and his new best friend. The villain and the hero collide in a fortuitous mishap, which will, as the stories go, end in either the hero being caught in the villain's trap, escaping, and emerging as the victor; saving his people from the ever-threatening plague of gayness, or the villain being far more clever than the hero and causing his tragic death.

Nezumi was betting on the latter.

"Hey, faggot." The teen greeted with a vulgar nod of that idiotically tanned head.

"Good evening, Captain"

"What?"

"Nothing important, now I'll just be on my way." Nezumi informed, hoping the guy would stay confused long enough to just brush by him without any worries. That ended up not being the case as his arm was grabbed and pulled back.

"Did I say you could leave?"

Nezumi stayed quiet. If you'll remember, he was quite tired and had plenty enough of this prick in the past few days. He wasn't dealing with this anymore. So, he slipped quietly from the large grip and began sauntering down the hall once again. Nezumi felt the tiniest thrill of adrenaline and prepared himself for the hand that snarled into his hair and yanked backward. A barely noticeable hop sent his body back easily. Annoyed, he turned his head smoothly and glared at the presumptuous prick holding his hair. Long fingers curled into the soft flesh of an arm connected to his head and Nezumi growled barbed words. "Get the _fuck_ away from me or I'll _make_ you gay."

The tan face that molded to different emotions like clay scrunched up along with his fist. The hero swung forward largely and smacked into Nezumi's palm. _'Oh, fist... what a great blunder you've made.'_ Nezumi narrated inwardly with an emotion alarmingly close to joy as he smashed his fist into a stunned face.

* * *

><p><em>Thank you so much to all of my awesome reviewers. Your emotions fuel me. I love you all, but I am mirroring Nezumi here, and am so tired it's unbelievable. So I shall leave you with my love and no replies. <em>

_Thanks For Reading _


	16. Fragile Egg

Nezumi shook out fingers that buzzed in response to snapping a tan nose; he hadn't meant to hit him that hard. Adrenaline laced into him easily and ended up using all of his barely housed energy to crush his attacker, now collapsed to the ground. Common courtesy said that Nezumi had to take the guy to the nurse or call over a teacher; his fist was the abuser, after all. Nezumi, however, was too tired and pissed for common courtesy, and burned the idea of laboring to help the prick that filled him with such vitality-munching ire. Besides, they were in a perfectly safe, authority-ridden school; the jerk could manage.

One tired step after another, Nezumi slugged down the empty hall and listened to the noises of a bloody student being found in a heap. The sounds felt further off than they should and Nezumi shook his head vigorously, rattling his brain that began crashing after the loss of adrenaline. Roughly twenty meters stood between him and sleep, and Nezumi was not about to be found by the teacher, already investigating his dazed victim a ways back. Nezumi had come too far to be beaten down so late in the evening, with a single school day left in the week. They could at least let him rest. All he needed was a warm place to rest for a few-

"Nezumi? Oh, there you are." A bright voice called from somewhere grey eyes didn't dare venture and Nezumi heard footsteps coming from his front.

_Not him. Not now. Don't screw with me anymore._

"Nezumi?" Sion asked anxiously, lowering himself to look up at the stale expression angled to the floor. Tired grey eyes blinked and lifted, slowly mingling their gazes and allowing Sion full notice of how exhausted the poor thing was. Before his brain could fully take in Nezumi's darkened eyes and distinct pallor, the face disappeared from view. Sion's arms instinctively reached up to hold the thin boy whose weight had flopped lazily onto his shoulders. Lank arms rested atop his back and Nezumi's lean neck coddled his own.

"Ah... hey." Sion responded stupidly, wishing to take another look at the young face he had been seeing all too often lately. When silence replied, Sion eased himself and questioned softly. "Tired?"

Nezumi grunted his affirmation and Sion smiled.

"Should I carry you back to your room?"

"No"

"Why?"

"I don't want your charity." Nezumi grumbled against his back and Sion shifted under the teen's weight.

"Ah, well... honestly, I had planned on you being too tired to kick me out or violate me if I snuck into bed with you."

Nezumi managed a hazed laugh and mulled it all over in his mind. Let Sion carry him, or walk. Pride wasn't a huge concern, he was tired as hell, walking wouldn't be fun, sleep _would_ be, his will was a tenth of normal, and it was a trade off, so no one-way relying. Plus, he had wanted to see this warm man _so_ much.

"You carry me, and I let you in my bed?"

"Yes."

"... deal," Nezumi sighed and fell completely into Sion. The man's body wavered for a second under his weight. After that slight movement Nezumi reveled in the way Sion's body seemed to grow soft, gingerly cushioning his weight. Every movement acted like rocking and lulled him further into sleep. Sion bent down gently and lifted him with a single arm under his legs. A warm hand stroked his back and Sion muttered softly. "Let's go, sweetie."

_Sweetie? _

In Nezumi's dreamlike state, the thought tripped from his lips in an annoyed mumble.

"Ah, sorry," Sion stated blandly. "Parental instinct."

"I don't remember being birthed by you."

"I don't either. And I'm sure I would if I had."

"Whatever. Try not to lactate on the way to my room."

"Would you just fall asleep?" Sion mumbled bitterly, hoisting Nezumi further up his front.

Surprisingly, Nezumi didn't even care that he was being treated like a child. The teen was about ready to pass out and, in fact, a juvenile. So it didn't matter all too much. Sion wanted to do it and was also the only one that wouldn't judge him for acting a bit spoilt. The guy had probably beamed when Nezumi agreed, so glad to be able to do something for the stubborn teen. And the only one that really mattered to Nezumi was the oblivious idiot; he was the only one with any significance in his trapped life, so who the fuck cared if he carried him?

Teachers, that's who.

"Excuse me?" Came a young and slightly withered voice that must've come from a teacher used to screaming.

Sion turned around slowly, trying not to disturb Nezumi, and faced the woman with an angry look in her eye. "I'm sorry, is something the matter?"

"Are you this boy's guardian?"

"Yes."

"Well, that saves me some time." She muttered to herself and Sion held Nezumi closer; the woman's tone had no calming ability. "I need to speak with the both of you about what Nezumi did a few moments ago."

"Huh? What did he...?" Sion's question dwindled and he tried to look at the face continuing to duck behind his back. The boy wasn't _hiding, _exactly, but Sion could sense more of an instinctual flee, like a cat scratching you when it wants to be left alone. Sion had probably hindered his escape and almost felt bad, until he remembered that Nezumi was _probably _in trouble, and that made him a bit mad. "Did he do something wrong?" Sion asked.

"You could say that." The woman grouched, "I'd like you to put him down and come with me."

"Um- but he's..." Sion wasn't quite sure why, but he clutched Nezumi tighter. The teen's hands still pressed flat against his back, and therefore, must be awake. But, he stayed silent. Sion felt like Nezumi was... sort of relying on him. It was only slightly, to the point where he was only being entrusted with making sure Nezumi didn't bear the full brunt of this woman. That's all the boy asked. _'I'll do whatever they say, but for now, I don't feel like dealing with this. Work with me.' _Nezumi made it easy, though. Sion only needed to speak and do what he wanted to do; he couldn't let go of Nezumi just yet.

"Could I carry him there? He fell asleep and I'd rather not wake him." Sion questioned sincerely and heard a whispered "good" from Nezumi. The woman shot him an annoyed glance as if this question was just a huge waste of her time and gave a curt nod. She turned and Sion followed, almost forgetting why he had to; he flustered slightly at the thought. Sion didn't really mind if Nezumi did something bad. He was angrier that the teen was in trouble. It was frustrating.

After a few minutes of walking, the woman stopped at a door that held five bold, black letters. **NURSE**. _Oh, geez. _"Nezumi, did you beat someone up?" Sion asked timidly, easing the tired teen onto the ground.

Nezumi rubbed his eyes and yawned, looking at the door blandly. "A little bit"

Sion bit his lip looked from the grinch of a woman to the door and back to Nezumi. He didn't like this woman very much, he didn't know who or what was behind that door, but he would trust Nezumi with his life, easily. "He deserved it, right?"

"Definitely."

"... Okay." Sion took a deep breath and the lady let them into the infirmary. The large boy with a bloody nose sat clearly visible in the middle of the room and the maternal genes that always thrived abnormally in Sion wanted to go comfort the fuming youth, but if the kid got Nezumi to punch him, he probably wasn't the _best_ person. Sion really didn't think Nezumi would just _hit_ someone without a decent reason. Like... a really decent reason.

Sion and Nezumi were lead to chairs alongside the office walls; the only other furniture in the small room were four beds that could be separated by plastic curtains hung from the clean, white ceiling. Sion's heart skipped a bleak beat when the bleeding young man was lead to the bed settled horizontally before them. He sent a pained glare to Nezumi and inspected Sion thoroughly, who already felt an uncomfortable frown forming on his face. The woman sat beside the boy and placed a small hand along his knee, asking him to explain what had happened.

The gist of his explanation pointed to Nezumi as the sole offender; he said that they were talking and Nezumi flipped out, without a reason. Sion continued glancing to the accused on his left, the boy looking utterly unfazed by any of this and simply ready to fall asleep. Which, of course, made Sion want to shove everyone else out of the room and cuddle up with the tired sack of a boy in one of the empty beds. But, that verged off topic... quite far off topic.

"Look," Sion started in a businesslike tone. "I'm sorry that Nezumi hurt him, but I really doubt he'd do something like this without a reason. He's obviously exhausted and not very happy, and Nezumi's really not one to show stuff like that. I don't think he was in the wrong." It sounded odd even as it left his mouth. The nose breaker did nothing wrong... kind of a contradiction in terms. But, seriously, Sion would not believe that Nezumi just _randomly_ attacked someone. The boy was being taken as an animal for some reason and Sion started to pick up on something. This... probably had to do with himself.

The woman replied, "I haven't jumped to any conclusions, but punishments will be given and I need to hear what your child has to say about this."

Sion tried to keep from immediately denying that Nezumi was his child. The woman probably knew that, but just used the easiest way to describe Sion and Nezumi: parent and child. It made him cringe a bit, though. That kind of title would put even more distance between him and Nezumi, and he had no desire for that. Simply being associated as a family made Sion a bit happy, though. However, with the kind of family he wanted, it would be bad if people saw them and thought 'incest'_._

"I'm not his kid. You'll freak him out if you keep saying that." Nezumi said with some composure back in his voice. "And that kid," he nodded to the broken boy. "tried to hit me first. I only used self-defense. I wouldn't have actually broken his nose if I hadn't been so out of it, and he's the reason for that, so let's just call it even." Sion heard the boy wither slightly at the end of his words, and, as if to testify his lethargy, he leaned into Sion's side and closed dark eyes on the man's shoulder.

Sion looked down at Nezumi, lying quietly against him, and grew angry. The woman still wore an angry expression towards Nezumi and didn't show any sign of relenting. The boy Nezumi hurt still stared at them with a queer gaze and Sion had no idea why. He understood getting mad about being hit, but this look said that neither Nezumi nor himself were welcome near the child. It made him feel uncomfortable and the worst part arrived when Sion almost took Nezumi's hand, as support.

Relying on Nezumi could never be a good idea; Sion didn't want to put any burden on the boy or try to ease his own. But, if Sion teetered, if Sion became unstable, Nezumi always seemed closer at hand. It became hard not to reach out to him for the smallest of reasons. And now, Sion had almost braced himself on the boy that needed to be cradled. This was Nezumi's problem, and Sion almost made his burden harder to bear.

"Nezumi?" Sion asked thinly. "Why did he try to hit you, and why are you so worn out?"

"Not telling" Nezumi said with a tired smile that taunted Sion. If Sion knew all of what happened then the guy would never shut up about how it was his fault. And it wasn't, not at all. Ultimately, the whole thing happened because Nezumi couldn't hold himself back. If he hadn't given up, and kept to his plan of staying away from Sion, then none of this would've happened at all. Sion wouldn't have to worry about him right now, because he wouldn't be here. Nezumi couldn't even run away anymore; there was no reason to.

"Nezumi, does this have to do with me at all?" Sion asked calmly and Nezumi let out a long, low breath.

"Sort of. They'll probably end up asking you questions, anyway. You're not supposed to be in the building at this time, and you were found carrying me. That's why she's so mad and why that kid keeps stabbing you with his eyes. They think you're screwing me and don't like it very much. I'm not supposed to 'associate' with you and I shouldn't spend my time fucking you. Which reminds me, I joined the drama club, and am now properly educated on venereal acts due to a very uninformative piece of paper that basically said I shouldn't do anyone or anything." Nezumi stated casually, smiling when Sion's body grew hot and stiffened, before a puff of laughter that the man just couldn't hold back challenged the room's seriousness.

Sion's head fell forward with a laugh and he couldn't believe that he hadn't caught on fire with how hot he was growing. This all came in a package much too large and ridiculous for Sion to even begin opening it. And with Nezumi being so completely calm about it all, Sion just... couldn't handle it. This would be as if you were delivered a unicorn and the mailman didn't look twice, like unicorns were a common delivery. Sion probably should've been concerned with them thinking/knowing that the two were in a relationship, but he really couldn't. It was too hilarious. They actually tried to educate_ Nezumi_ on sex. And with a flyer of all things. Oh god. And then... and then the woman was looking at him like he was absolutely mad; she had no idea why he would be laughing at such 'serious' news.

"I-I'm sorry," Sion fumbled, working on scraping the smile from his face. "It's just, um, we're not in a relationship like that. I don't really know why you misunderstood, but I just came here today to see the boy under my care. I only wanted to talk, and I ended up carrying him because the kid looked like death. I really am his guardian, and nothing more." Sion's tone slowly grew serious, only enough to hide the true grief behind his words. The thought of isolating himself from Nezumi with the title 'guardian' made Sion want to hit someone. They didn't need to have something else separating their entirely different worlds. Nezumi already seemed like a whole other breed to Sion, so no one needed to, out right, call them that. Sion wanted to be equals. It didn't matter who Nezumi was, how old he was, or how he acted; Sion only desired an equal relationship.

Sion started slightly when Nezumi's fingers laced through his own. The gesture was a stubborn one, and it both warmed and annoyed Sion. Trying to do this on his own hadn't been easy in the first place, and now Nezumi's hand nursed his own, comforting for what shouldn't have been known.

"Well," the woman started timidly. "There are still quite a few things I was told to speak with the two of you about. Such as why you come to his room so late and why I caught a few of my students gathered around this."

The woman held out her arm and angled a crumpled photograph away from the tan boy trying to take a peek and towards the duo dropping jaws at the paper.

Nezumi's hand shot forward and snatched the hazy photograph of himself from the defective woman. Why the hell would she show that to Sion? What gave her the right to even do that? Shoving that kind of needless thing in such an oblivious man's face. Only a complete idiot would ever do that. It was insanity, and now Sion gathered even more heat; his flush fingers dug into Nezumi's skin.

"Sion, stop. You'll break my hand." Nezumi stated cleanly and pulled from the emotional man's shoulder. Blood eyes gazed into him in the way only they could. Sion had this way of staring at you like every part of you, inside and out, laid open for analyzation. The man could see into you easily, but never knew what to make of the results and Nezumi could only imagine how frustrating it would be. Knowing that someone or something you care for is disrupted, but not knowing how or why or what to do about it. Sion could see the path, but could never walk it. How tiresome that must be. How painful for someone like Sion, a man who bruised so easily, to be hurt vastly by the people he loved.

Yet, that fragility probably attracted Nezumi. The teen reveled in Sion's delicacy and how you had to handle it. You needn't be gentle with him... but you still wanted to. Nezumi only refrained from petting the man twenty-four seven because he didn't want to get used to it. The rougher you were the more distant it felt. Holding someone by the throat and growling in their face proved to be more effective and less demeaning than hushing them in your arms. However, being callous erased all the warmth from it all, and Sion's warmth had attracted him as well. Sion, a person easy to break, like an egg, still filled you with a comforting warmth and Nezumi never understood how. Warmth to Nezumi had always meant a thick blanket or flesh against your own. Not a fizzy, bizarre heat that shot Nezumi's instinct through the head; his instinct to run away diminished into something unrecognizable, something entirely different, in fact. The feelings of wanting to leave or forget began to turn into a disgusting awareness of Sion and his own feelings toward the man. The want to feel his unique warmth or protect that fragility certainly grew in Nezumi every moment spent acknowledging that plague's existence.

Nezumi took in a breath, and let go of Sion's hand. He spoke to the woman who still comforted the broken boy by her side. "I don't know why they have that, but it's neither any of their nor your business. It's none of his either." Nezumi added, pointing his thumb to Sion. "That happened before I met him and I'm sure he doesn't want to see some erotic crap like that. Especially in front of me. This guy's high up on his naive pedestal and I'd like to keep it that way, so quit casually making him more aware of what a whore I was." Nezumi slumped back in his chair, ignoring the shocked gazes from the two outsiders and sending a challenging glance up to Sion. The man had either shut down or been captured by thoughts, because he simply held his gaze, continuing to look in Nezumi's eyes as if they held the answer to what Sion should do.

They didn't, as it turns out, and Sion responded by absently mumbling, "You're not a whore," and then adding with much grace, "and if you are, then you're my whore, so this_ is_ my business." Sion and Nezumi kept their calm stares until Sion realized what he said and a white head plummeted into the man's lap. "I'm sorry!" He yelped against his legs. "I didn't mean that! I just..." Sion's head flew up and he continued on with a frantic, flushed face, draped in tasseled, snow white, hair. "I never know how to handle you, Nezumi. You're so completely opposite from me and I really don't understand you at all. But, I still completely don't like seeing you like... like _that_ and I don't want anyone else to see that either. Only the person you love should know you well enough for... _that_ to be acceptable and I'm kind of really mad that some random kids saw that and this bitch just had it in her pocket like it was no big deal. I don't like how these people just casually thought you and I were screwing and I don't like that you're not angry at all! There is no reason why they should-!"

Nezumi leant forward and pressed a gentle hand atop Sion's eyes. They grew hot quickly and a lone tear seeped from under Nezumi's fingers. The drop slid down Sion's ivory skin and followed his quivering jaw, hanging for a moment before dripping down to be absorbed into a light blue shirt. Sion's breath fell in heavy pants after his climactic outburst and Nezumi spoke strong words. "Don't show them your tears. You're standing up for yourself, so don't fall down so easily. Be strong, or your message won't get across."

Sion's stuttering fingers wrapped around the ones sheltering his vision. He spoke quietly. "I can't, Nezumi. I can't do tha-"

"You can." Nezumi informed stubbornly.

Sion's grip tightened and the man bent forward, silently crying into his hand and Nezumi sighed. "I'm sorry." He announced to the outsiders in the room. "I'm sorry I hit him, I'm sorry that my life wasn't the most well planned, and I'm sorry that I've taken up your time with something I don't even care about. I'm sorry he called you a bitch and I'm sorry you're all so uncomfortable with our relationship. I'm also sorry that I'm apologizing to you right now, because neither of you deserve it for making him cry for me like this."

Nezumi kept his gaze on the woman as Sion's tears dwindled and the man pulled his hand down to press it to warm lips, one of the loving gestures that Nezumi couldn't bring himself to hate. Sion lifted his head and wiped red eyes, freeing Nezumi's hand after a short moment.

The woman pressed thin fingers to her temple and closed her eyes. She spoke exasperatedly. "Which one of you is the child here?"

"We both are." Nezumi responded promptly. "He hasn't hatched into whatever monster everyone else is and actually responds to things like this. Sion may look like an adult, but he's just as much a child as I am and doesn't know not to show it. So, don't act like you can just throw these problems in the guy's face and think, because it's not about him, he won't be affected by it. He'll be most affected, if anything. I'll talk about anything you want tomorrow, but I'm going to sleep and Sion's coming with me."

Sion had already stood up before Nezumi finished, sensing the finality in the youth's words. The man bowed and apologized to the stunned duo, who certainly hadn't expected such a troublesome encounter and exited the room at Nezumi's heels.

* * *

><p><em>Mhm<em>

_Thank you to all of my readers and my reviewers, **Ulquiarra** and_ **MyNameIsSara**_, I love you all for staying with me through this mess of a story._

_Thanks For Reading  
><em>


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